MILFORD — A Shelton man accused of drugging a 15-year-old girl and having sex with her has taken a plea deal in the case that will see him receive a suspended prison sentence and probation.
Matthew Pelham, 24, pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine to risk of injury to a minor Aug. 22 before Judge Frank Iannotti at Superior Court in Milford.
Under the Alford doctrine, a defendant doesn’t agree with all of the prosecution’s accusations but concedes that a conviction is likely if the case went to trial.
“He certainly doesn’t agree with all the allegations,” his lawyer, Paul Carty, said after Pelham pleaded guilty.
Pelham has been behind bars since his arrest in the case last October on charges of second-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor, and illegal sexual contact with a victim under 16.
Prosecutor Amy Bepko said in court that the investigation began when a 15-year-old Shelton girl’s parents reported her missing last May.
Shelton police followed leads they found on Facebook located the girl staying at another person’s home, Bepko said.
The girl was agitated and sent to a hospital for treatment.
When she eventually spoke to police, the girl said that during the time she was missing, she and Pelham had sex in the dugout of the baseball field at Riverview Park after he had given her Xanax.
Another man, Miguel Feliciano, also faces charges of drugging the girl and having sex with her.
Feliciano is a registered sex offender, having been convicted in 2007 of having illegal sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl and sentenced to serve three years behind bars.
Bepko said police also obtained Feliciano’s DNA from the victim, and that he confessed to the allegations after being arrested.
Pelham, on the other hand, denied the charges from the beginning, Bepko said, and was eliminated by DNA samples taken from the girl.
“The state is not convinced that it didn’t happen, your honor, however, the case that the state has is what it is,” Bepko told the judge. “I think that this is a fair disposition in light of all of those circumstances.”
Under the terms of the plea deal, Pelham will receive a suspended two-year prison term and two years of probation at his sentencing, scheduled for Nov. 9.
Feliciano has been behind bars since his arrest in the case last August on charges of second-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor, and illegal sexual contact with a victim under 16.
Feliciano has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to appear at Superior Court in Milford Oct. 22.
