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Sexual predator asks judge to set aside 2016 guilty plea

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Christopher Lunny leaves Courtroom 2 at Strafford County Superior Court escorted by Sheriffs' deputies to begin his 25-year minimum prison sentence. (Rochester Voice file photo)

DOVER - More than a year and a half after pleading guilty to a pattern of sexual abuse of a young girl in Rochester, a Maine man was back in Strafford County Court court on Monday saying mental health issues prevented him from making a rational decision the day he agreed to the plea deal.

Christopher Lunny, 45, formerly of Ellsworth Street, Springvale, Maine, asked that Judge Steven M. Houran set the guilty plea aside and change it to a plea of not guilty, a request Houran will take under advisement before rendering a decision.

Back on Sept. 23, 2016, the day of the sentencing during which Lunny pleaded guilty and agreed to the terms, Houran noted that Lunny had put the victim through four years of predatory perversion and called her a brave little girl for being willing to testify if there had been a trial.

The plea deal Lunny agreed to is expected to keep him behind bars for at least 25 years.

During the hourlong sentencing hearing Lunny, his hands and feet shackled, often looked at family members, but said nothing and showed no emotion, a far cry from the victim's family who often openly wept.

Lunny was sentenced to two consecutive 10-20 year sentences and one 5-10 year sentence.

His decision to plead guilty came just days after an attempt by him to flee the country failed.

The bizarre end to the two-year-old case plagued by court continuances and motions came to a frenetic end in seven days just prior to his sentencing beginning when Lunny attempted to obtain a phony passport and flee to Canada.

His attempt at flight ended when U.S. Marshals picked him up at his Springvale home.

It was just two days later that Lunny decided to accept a plea deal and change his plea to guilty, saving the state the expense of a trial and the girl the trauma of testifying.

Lunny was indicted in June 2014 on five counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, a special felony due to the victim's age. Each count could have resulted in a 10-30 year sentence.

Court records allege he engaged in a pattern of sexual abuse of the girl in Rochester between 2004 and 2008, including rape and other various sexual acts.

On Monday Strafford County Attorney Thomas Velardi argued that the motion should be denied. Veladi told The Rochester Voice today it would be at least a month before Houran is expected to render a decision.

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