Digital Extras

Nicholas C. Plante is expected to remain at the Adult Correctional Institutions until July 2006.

BY KATE BRAMSON
Journal Staff Writer

BURRILLVILLE -- Nicholas C. Plante, the Burrillville teenager convicted of raping a classmate more than two years ago, was denied parole yesterday and must now serve out the rest of his sentence, according to Anne Marie D'Alessio, the victim advocate for the Parole Board.

Plante was sentenced last January to serve four years for several concurrent sentences. He was convicted in October 2002 on three counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of second-degree sexual assault.

Plante, 19, is expected to remain at the Adult Correctional Institutions until July 3, 2006, based on yesterday's calculations by ACI spokesman Albert A. Bucci Jr. However, an inmate's release date changes on a monthly basis, Bucci said, since inmates may earn time off for good behavior and for working within the ACI.

"He will not be having another parole hearing," D'Alessio said after the Parole Board issued its ruling yesterday. "[The Parole Board] felt that it would depreciate the seriousness of the crime."

Plante's victim, who has been identified in The Journal by her first name, Laura, learned of the board's decision yesterday afternoon.

"I'm just happy," she said. "It's like a big weight is gone."

Laura and her parents addressed the Parole Board yesterday morning about how the crime has affected their lives. Special Assistant Attorney General Denise Choquette, who prosecuted the case, and Marilyn Kelley, the Burrillville High School nurse-teacher whom Laura first told about the rape, also addressed the board on Laura's behalf. Deputy Attorney General Gerald J. Coyne met earlier with the board and submitted a letter "in which he expressed the AG's strong opposition to paroling the defendant," according to Michael J. Healey, spokesman for the attorney general's office.

The Parole Board then met with Plante and issued its ruling.

Inmates are first eligible for a Parole Board hearing after serving one-third of their sentences, Parole Board Chairwoman Lisa S. Holley said last week. The Parole Board then determines an inmate's next hearing date, "in reasonable intervals," Holley said. She was unavailable yesterday afternoon to discuss the board's decision.

Parole Board meetings with victims and inmates are closed to the public unless the victim or the inmate agrees to allow members of the public to attend, according to Holley. Both Laura's family and Plante agreed for their meetings to remain closed.

Plante offered no reason for doing so. He communicated with The Journal through ACI spokesman Bucci.

Laura's family said they wanted to protect the confidentiality of others who addressed the board. Once a victim or inmate agrees that the parole meeting may be open, all letters and comments shared with the board on that person's behalf become public, D'Alessio said.

Laura's father said he and his wife were there to support Laura.

"And what she couldn't get out or express, we could," he said. "We could give a different view of how it affected the family."

On the first-degree sexual assault counts, Plante was sentenced to 10 years, with 4 to serve. On the second-degree sexual assault count, he was sentenced to five years, with two to serve. All his sentences run concurrently.

Plante was eligible for parole 1 year and 6 days after he was sentenced because he received 123 days of credit for time served under the state's home-confinement program while awaiting trial, Bucci said. While at the ACI, Plante has also received 60 days of credit for good behavior and 12 days of credit for working, Bucci said.

Reporter Kate Bramson can be reached by e-mail at kbramson [at] projo.com.