Gaskin pleads no contest to New London middle school sex crimes
A former New London middle school employee pleaded no contest on Tuesday to sex crimes against girls in the seventh and eighth grades and is set to be sentenced in April to seven years in prison.
Corriche Gaskin, 37, is charged with sexually assaulting two girls who were students at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School while he was employed there as a behavioral specialist in 2016 and 2017.
Gaskin pleaded no contest — meaning he didn't dispute his guilt — to two charges of risk of injury to a minor under a plea agreement with state prosecutors in New London Superior Court Part A. The victims in the two cases were between 14 and 15 years old at the time of the crimes, according to police and court records.
The state is recommending Gaskin be sentenced to 15 years in prison, suspended after seven years served for each count of risk of injury. The sentences will be served at the same time, followed by 10 years of probation and 10 years on the sex offender registry beginning on the day he is released from prison, according to Attorney Theresa Anne Ferryman, who is prosecuting the case.
Gaskin's attorney, Michael Blanchard, did not immediately respond to a phone call Tuesday.
Gaskin has remained in prison since his arrest in May 2019, following an investigation by New London police into allegations he sexually assaulted two middle school students inside the school. He is being held at the Cheshire Correctional Institution in lieu of $550,000, according to the Connecticut Department of Correction.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Gaskin assaulted the girls between 2016 and 2017, recorded his sexual encounters on his cellphone and showed the video to others — including at least one underage girl — and also had sex with three school employees.
He originally faced a slew of additional charges, including second-degree sexual assault, third-degree illegal possession of child pornography, voyeurism with malice, disseminating voyeuristic material and four counts of risk of injury to a minor and faced a maximum of 140 years in prison if found guilty at trial. Those charges were dropped as part of the plea deal.
Judge Hilary B. Strackbein on Tuesday scheduled him to be sentenced on April 12.
