PROVIDENCE —An East Providence man was sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve 12 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after pleading to sexually assaulting a female victim under the age of 14 in 2012.

Adam Sousa, 47, entered a plea of nolo contendere to one count of first-degree child molestation at a hearing Wednesday, Sept. 22, before Superior Court Justice Richard D. Raspallo.

The court sentenced Sousa to 20 years at the ACI with 12 years to serve and the balance of the sentence suspended with probation. The court also ordered that Sousa register as a sex offender, complete sex offender counseling, and be subject to community supervision, which requires lifetime GPS monitoring. The court further issued a No Contact Order between Sousa and his victim.

“This office prosecutes cases like this one all too often – where a 'trusted' adult sexually exploits a young child," said Attorney General Peter Neronha. "Such criminal conduct, like that perpetrated by the defendant here, causes irreparable harm to victims and their families. I am grateful for the victim and her family for coming forward and for their willingness to see this case through to the end.”

Had the case proceeded to a trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that in 2012, Sousa sexually assaulted a female victim, who was under the age of 14 at the time of the assault, at a home in East Providence.

Assistant Attorney General Bethany A. Laskowski and Special Assistant Attorney General Robert E. Johnson IV of the Office of the Attorney General and Detective Michael Spremulli of the East Providence Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.