A longtime Democrat politician and prominent public official in Massachusetts has been arrested on multiple charges of crimes against children.
Few criminal offenses are more jarring than those committed against minors.
This scenario is made all the more appalling when the person accused of committing them has been a prominent member of the legal and political communities.
As the Daily Caller reports, authorities revealed that Robert LeBlanc of Methuen, Massachusetts, a longtime attorney, public official, and now-resigned member of the Democratic State Committee, has been charged with multiple child sex offenses.
The charges come after years of rumors regarding the high-profile Democrat’s inappropriate conduct.
The charges leveled against LeBlanc, 80, were announced by the Essex County Office of the District Attorney.
According to a prosecution press release, LeBlanc was arraigned in Salem’s Superior Court on multiple counts related to “child rape and indecent assault.”
LeBlanc has been charged with “rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older and attempt to commit crime — indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.”
For his part, LeBlanc pleaded not guilty to the aforementioned charges.
As NBC 10 in Boston noted, prosecutors did not ask that monetary terms of bail be imposed.
However, they did ask for a series of conditions related to LeBlanc’s status.
LeBlanc’s defense attorney agreed to the prosecutors’ terms.
According to the Eagle-Tribune, LeBlanc has a lengthy history of public-facing roles, including his work as an attorney.
LeBlanc was the Methuen town manager from 1976 to 1981.
He later served two terms as an at-large city councilor in the 1980s.
LeBlanc also worked as a lawyer for the Massachusetts Democratic Party.
Though he sought an at-large councilor spot again in 2013, LeBlanc was defeated.
His run failed as sexual misconduct allegations began to surface.
Allegations against LeBlanc included claims that he “stalked” and propositioned a student at Greater Lawrence Technical School.
The allegations resulted in LeBlanc being banned from campus property.
In 2002, LeBlanc was sent a letter informing him of a similar ban at a Barnes & Noble bookstore.
It stemmed from an incident in which a customer said he was followed into a restroom by LeBlanc, a former public official.
LeBlanc was alleged to have stationed himself near a urinal and touched himself inappropriately.
After the aforementioned charges were issued, LeBlanc was ordered to report to the Methuen Police Department for booking.
The well-known Democrat was also instructed not to have any contact with victims or witnesses in the case.
He is also prohibited from having any unsupervised contact with individuals under the age of 18.
A pretrial hearing for LeBlanc is now scheduled for May 20.
Additional details of the accusations against LeBlanc are likely to emerge during the hearing.
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