WOODBURY — Shawne A Grant, 43, pleaded guilty Nov. 20 to sexual assault and absconding from parole in connection with a 2013 incident involved in boy under 13 in Pitman.
Grant, of Pitman, acknowledged in court he had improperly touched the victim on July 28, 2013, authorities said.
As part of a plea agreement, Assistant Gloucester County Prosecutor Margaret Cipparrone will recommend Grant be sentenced to six years in state prison for the assault charge and for a concurrent four-year sentence for the parole violation, said authorities. The six-year sentence will require that Grant serve 85-percent of the time before be becomes eligible for parole.
Grant said he went into hiding from parole officials in West Deptford on July 30, 2013. He was on parole for a previous sex offense in 2000, for which he’d served prison time and became a registered sex offender under Megan’s Law.
Grant said in court he’d undergone drug counseling two years ago and was in treatment for mental health issues from 2000 to 2012.
No date was set for sentencing, pending an evaluation of Grant by the state Diagnostic and Treatment Center for sex offenders, located in Avenel. Grant has been in hail since he was arrested Aug. 1, 2013.