twiw-horizontal-trans-150h
Is there a story you think we should be covering? Have a tip on something we should look at?
Contact Us

Webster Man Sentenced for Threats to West Virginia Judge

By Tom Marino | January 22, 2022
Last Updated: January 22, 2022

WORCESTER – A federal judge sentenced a Webster man to time served and one year of supervised release for mailing threatening communications to a West Virginia District Court Judge.

Keith Lessard, 41, of Webster, was sentenced to time served, approximately four months, and one year of supervised release. The government recommended a sentence of two years in prison, the maximum permitted under the law.

Lessard pleaded guilty to one count of mailing threatening communications on September 15.

According to federal prosecutors, from August 2019 through June 2020, Lessard sent a serious of communications using email and postal mail to a West Virginia District Court Judge. The judge previously served as an assistant prosecutor in a case against Lessard in 2010.

The communications sent by Lessard were part of a scheme to extort money from the victim by threatening injury to her reputation by falsely claiming that she engaged in illegal prosecutorial misconduct when she prosecuted him.

A federal grand jury indicted Lessard in August 2020 in the Southern District of West Virginia. The court transferred the case to Massachusetts in July 2021 for plea and sentencing proceedings.

Follow us on The016.com, the social network for Worcester and you!