Man gets seven years in sex exploitation case

AUGUSTA – A Litchfield man was sentenced Tuesday to seven years in prison for plying a 16-year-old girl with marijuana, taking sexually explicit photos of her and displaying them on the Internet.

A Kennebec County Superior Court jury last month convicted Ronald Gonyou Jr., 32, of sexual exploitation of a minor and aggravated furnishing of marijuana.

Justice Nancy Mills, who presided over the trial, on Tuesday sentenced him to 10 years in prison, with all but seven years suspended, and six years probation. Mills said Gonyou picked a vulnerable victim and had blamed others for his conduct.

Prosecutors said the victim had low self-esteem, has been hospitalized with a mental illness, and fears the photos could turn up on the Internet in the future.

“He deserves every day of it,” said District Attorney Evert Fowle. “The sexual exploitation conviction carried a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.”

Gonyou apologized to the judge, and said there was no excuse for what he did.

Attorney Benjamin Smith requested a shorter jail term for Gonyou, saying that drugs were at the root of Gonyou’s problems and his prior criminal convictions.

“Five years would be more than enough to impress upon Mr. Gonyou the severity of what he’s convicted of,” Smith said.