Former Woonsocket man sentenced to serve 17 years in state prison for child molestation

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a former Woonsocket man was sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve 17 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after pleading to sexually assaulting a female victim under the age of 14 in 2017.

Johnathon Ramsdell (age 32) waived grand jury indictment and entered a plea of nolo contendere to one count of first-degree child molestation.

At a hearing on January 13, 2022, before Superior Court Justice John F. McBurney III, the Court sentenced the defendant to 30 years at the ACI with 17 years to serve and the balance of the sentence suspended with probation. The court further issued a no contact order between the defendant and the victim. Additionally, the defendant is required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life, must attend sex offender counseling, and is subject to community supervision requirements under state law.

“This Office has charged over 400 sexual assault cases against children over the last five years – a sobering statistic that highlights an ongoing, devastating problem in Rhode Island,” said Attorney General Neronha. “The defendant in this case caused tremendous harm, changing the life of his victim and her family forever. For that, he deserves every minute of the lengthy prison sentence imposed by the court. I am grateful to the victim for coming forward and for her strength and resiliency throughout this process.”

Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that in 2017, the defendant sexually assaulted a female victim under the age of 14, who was known to him, at a residence in Woonsocket.

Detective Gabriel Koneczny of the Woonsocket Police Department and Special Assistant Attorney General Jillian Dubois of the Office of the Attorney General led the investigation and prosecution of the case.