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| Sean K. Dodgson |
Former Plymouth selectman tells his story
09/01/2011
PLYMOUTH - The state supreme court has thrown out some of the convictions against a former Plymouth selectman who tried to arrange a sexual encounter with what he thought were two 13-year-old girls.
A jury in Plymouth County Superior Court in Sept. 2007 convicted Sean K. Dodgson, 51, on several charges including enticing a child, disseminating obscene matter and attempted dissemination of matter harmful to a minor. He was sentenced to three to five years in prison.
The Supreme Judicial Court in a ruling issued Thursday upheld the child enticement and dissemination of obscene matter convictions and threw out the convictions on three counts of attempted dissemination of matter harmful to a child.
The high court ruled that when Dodgson committed the crimes – in June 2006 – state law did not include online messages in its definition of what could constitute obscene “matter.” In a 2010 case, the court ruled that online electronically transmitted messages are not “matter” as defined by state law.
The Legislature changed the law in April 2010, adding online messages to the definition of matter.
Dodgson was caught up in a Plymouth County Internet sting in 2006 dubbed Operation Trenchcoat. He resigned as a Plymouth selectman rather than face a recall election. The “girls” who Dodgson corresponded with by computer were police officers.
The jury in the case acquitted Dodgson of four counts of attempting to commit a crime.
- Of course they did, he's one of the "Big Boys," and if this were you or I, this would not have occurred.
Dodgson was the only person arrested in Operation Trenchcoat to be tried by a jury. Others pleaded guilty and were sentenced to probation or two years or less behind bars.
