Robert F. O'Donnell, whose record of sexually assaulting children dates back to the 1990s, pleaded guilty in New London Superior Court to sexually assaulting a young boy in Norwich.

O'Donnell, 43, will be sentenced Oct. 29 to 12 years in prison, suspended after six years served, followed by 10 years of sexual offender probation.

The state Department of Public Safety may require O'Donnell to register as a sexual offender for life, since this is his second offense involving a minor, according to prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman. 

Norwich police conducted an investigation after the Department of Children and Families alerted them in December 2018 that a child had accused O'Donnell of sexual assault.

O'Donnell provided a detailed admission to the crime that was recorded by police, according to Ferryman.

O'Donnell was convicted in 1998 of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old boy and served 4 1/2 years in prison.

Beginning in 2002, O'Donnell violated his probation four times over the next six years including using a MySpace account to attract others interested in children, according to court documents.

In 2008 he was sentenced to two years in prison for violating his probation.