Level 3 sex offender charged with child rape, enticement in Whitman

WHITMAN, Mass. — A Level 3 sex offender was arrested in Whitman Monday, on charges that include aggravated rape of a child.

According to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office, Charles Lovejoy, 31, was arraigned Monday morning in Brockton and held on $1 million bail.

The full list of charges includes aggravated rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, enticement of a child for sex under 16.

State Rep. Shaunna O'Connell says this is another example of the state's laws not doing enough.

"Children are the most vulnerable in our society and I do not believe MA does a good job protecting them," O'Connell told FOX25.

Lovejoy is on probation after serving two years for sexually assaulting his friend's child in Charlestown.

In this new crime, police say Lovejoy met a girl on Kik -- a messenger app. He picked her up in another town and took her to the Whitman Cemetery.  He promised her a ring if she had sex with him. When she said no, police say he raped her.

When police first approached Lovejoy, he told the officer he and the young girl were at the cemetery visiting their cousin's grave at 1:30 in the morning.

The officer learned Lovejoy was a level three sex offender when he checked his license plate. The officer asked, based on his probation, if he is allowed to be around children like this and Lovejoy said no unsupervised contact. He allegedly  told the officer she was family and asked if that counted.

Police later confirmed the girl was not related to him at all.

Representative O'Connell is working on legislation that would require child sex offenders to serve at least seven years of their sentence in custody.

"The only way to truly prevent these predators from preying on our children and harming our children is to keep them in jail," O'Connell said.

Prior to his arrest in Whitman, Lovejoy was registered as a Level 3 sex offender in Lowell. According to the registry, Lovejoy filed as a sex offender in 2010 after being charged with the indecent assault and battery of a child under 14 years old.

Cox Media Group