DOVER, NH (WMUR/CNN) – Just minutes after learning his sentence for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl, a convicted sex offender was headbutted in the back of the courtroom by another prisoner.
The attack happened Thursday after Christopher Elwell was sentenced to 7.5 to 15 years for sexually assaulting the 4-year-old.
Josiah Davies, who was shackled while awaiting arraignment and a hearing on a probation violation, headbutted Elwell multiple times before deputies restrained him.
A representative from the Strafford County Attorney’s Office said the two men didn’t know each other, and it must have been something about Elwell’s case that set Davies off.
The incident is under investigation, but Davies could be looking at 3.5 to 7 years in prison, according to Assistant Strafford County Attorney Emily Conant.
The sexual assault for which Elwell was sentenced happened in Dover, NH, on June 24 and 25 when the victim went to a home where the man was staying.
A 9-year-old and another 4-year-old girl were also there.
"They described him showing them videos of sexual acts similar to the ones that she had done,” Conant said in court.
Elwell initially denied the accusations but admitted in court Thursday it was true. He also pleaded guilty for failing to register as a sex offender, having been convicted on a different charge in 2008.
"The defendant was required to register as a sex offender. He… had not changed his registration with the Somersworth Police Department,” Conant said.
Conant also told the judge the victim’s mother doesn’t believe Elwell will stop assaulting young girls, and she would have liked him to be sentenced to more time.
The judge appeared to reluctantly accept Elwell’s plea bargain but said by doing so, it spares the young victim the pain of testifying during trial and being forced to relive the events.
Once Elwell is released from prison, he will not be allowed any unsupervised contact with juveniles.
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