Athol man to serve five to seven years on child abuse charges

Defense attorney Isaac Mass, left, listens to a prosecutor while standing next to his client, Eric Fenton, in Franklin County Superior Court during sentencing on Friday afternoon.

Defense attorney Isaac Mass, left, listens to a prosecutor while standing next to his client, Eric Fenton, in Franklin County Superior Court during sentencing on Friday afternoon. STAFF PHOTO/DOMENIC POLI

By DOMENIC POLI

Staff Writer

Published: 05-02-2025 6:21 PM

GREENFIELD — An Athol man will spend the next five to seven years in state prison after being found guilty of charges related to child abuse.

Eric Fenton was convicted by a Franklin County Superior Court jury on two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child age 14 or younger, and single counts of open and gross lewdness and intimidation of a witness, juror, police, or court official. On Friday, Judge John Agostini rendered his sentence after hearing from prosecutors and Isaac Mass, Fenton’s defense attorney.

Lori Odierna, chief of the Child Protection Unit at the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, said this was the most egregious assault and battery case she has seen. Fenton victimized a 6-year-old girl who was known to him.

Mass told Agostini that this case never should have gone to trial. He said Fenton took responsibility for his actions when he was arraigned in Orange District Court before it was transferred to Superior Court due to its severity. Mass said his client intended to accept a plea bargain, but objected to certain facts presented by the prosecution as part of the deal. The jury acquitted him on one count of aggravated rape and abuse of a child and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child age 14 or younger.

The victim’s mother read a victim-impact statement in which she said the emotional damage Fenton inflicted “is too much for anyone to handle.”

“You destroyed an innocent little girl,” she read before reading a similar statement from the victim’s stepfather.

Assistant District Attorney Jillian Parent read an impact statement from the victim’s biological father.

“[This ordeal] has killed trust in people we should be able to trust with our kids,” the statement read.

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Fenton was also sentenced to seven years of probation following his incarceration and he must register as a sex offender upon release.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.