A 20-year-old Groton man who was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor when he was 15 admitted Monday in New London Superior Court that he had violated the conditions of his probation for the second time in a year.

Thomas A. Perkins Jr. of 20 Waco Court used an unauthorized phone to access pornography, conduct searches involving children and arrange sexual encounters with more than a dozen males he met on at a site called Grindr, according to an arrest warrant affidavit written by Probation Officer Timothy Haggerty.

He is considered to be at a high risk of reoffending and will be on the strictest form of sexual offender probation through December 2036.

On Monday, Judge Hillary B. Strackbein sentenced him to serve six months in prison for the latest probation violation and reminded Perkins that officers will be monitoring every aspect of his life for the next 17 years.

"You have a long time on probation, and they're watching everything that you do," she told him.

Perkins was originally sentenced in November 2016 to 10 years in prison, fully suspended, followed by 20 years probation and was required to register as a sex offender with the Department of Public Safety. Details of that crime, committed when he was 15, were not immediately available.

Among the lengthy list of probation conditions were restricted computer access, no possession of electronic devices without approval, sex offender evaluation and treatment, including polygraph exams, and no contact with minors under 18.

In February 2018, he was charged with violation of probation after admitting he accessed pornography, created an email address to use for dating websites and created a Facebook account. He admitted the crimes and was sentenced to 90 days in prison, followed by continued probation, with zero tolerance for violations.

In December 2018, Perkins participated in a "maintenance polygraph" as part of his sex offender treatment. His responses to questions about sexual contact and unapproved contact with minors were found to be deceptive, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

In March 2019, probation officers Haggerty and Terry Granatek conducted a random home visit at Perkins' house, according to the warrant.

In Perkins' room, they found a phone that Perkins admitted was his father's old phone that he had taken from his mother's purse without her knowledge. A search of his internet history showed he had accessed numerous porn and dating websites. He admitted that approximately 13 males had come to his house for "sexual hookups," saying the oldest was in his 50s and that he 'hoped' the youngest was at least 18, because he had not asked them for identification.

He admitted to conducting searches for terms such as "little boy condom," "barely legal" and "little boys nude."

Prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman said his violations were serious, but that his probationary period is long. She said his next violation would result in a longer prison sentence.

His attorney, Kevin C. Barrs, said Perkins was working full time when he was charged with the most recent probation violation. Barrs said a social worker from his office met with Perkins to see if she could line up services, and that Perkins knows he will receive a longer sentence if he is arrested again.

k.florin@theday.com