Former Vernon Man To Serve 12 Years For Sex Assaults Involving Kids

VERNON, CT — A judge has ordered a former Vernon man to spend a dozen years in prison for sexually assaulting minors. He is also being listed as a sex offender for life.

Tolland Judicial District State's Attorney Matthew C. Gedansky, and Hartford Judicial District State's Attorney Sharmese L. Walcott announced that Judge Kathleen E. McNamara Friday sentenced 36-year-old James Lanier to 25 years in prison, execution suspended after 12 years served, and 20 years of probation.

On Dec. 13, Lanier pleaded guilty in Rockville Superior Court to one count of first-degree sexual assault in cases out the Tolland Judicial District, along with one count of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of illegal sexual contact with a minor out of the Hartford Judicial District. Lanier also was issued three standing criminal protective orders on behalf of each victim.

Lanier also will be required to register for life with the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry.

The case unraveled in March 2022, when an 11-year-old Vernon girl disclosed to her mother that Lanier began sexually assaulting her when she was 8 years old and that the sexual assaults continued until she was 11.

The Vernon Police Department began an investigation immediately and uncovered "strong evidence" supporting the victim's testimony and for probable cause against Lanier for the crimes committed in Vernon, Gedansky said.

During the Vernon police investigation, detectives developed information about additional sexual assault victims in East Hartford and Manchester. Police in Vernon, East Hartford, and Manchester then began to work collaboratively to investigate the matter, Gedansky said.

Vernon police and East Hartford police learned that Lanier sexually assaulted a minor female in East Hartford from 2016 to 2018, beginning when she was 5 years old and lasting until she was 8, Gedansky said. Vernon police and Manchester police developed information that Lanier sexually assaulted another minor female in Manchester when the victim was 9 years old, Walcott said.

Gedansky and Walcott commended the victims and their families for "coming forward and providing valuable information to police."

"By coming forward, police were able to arrest a dangerous sexual predator," they said in a joint statement. "He is now being punished for his actions. Tools, such as the Sex Offender Registry, are in place to prevent future harm to children by Lanier. The victims have shown incredible strength as they begin their healing process."