Sex offender who fled sentence arrested out of state

COEUR d’ALENE — A sex offender who absconded from custody is back in jail, after almost a year on the lam.

Chad L. Emond, 46, of Athol, pleaded guilty last year to sexual abuse of a child, a felony, and to disseminating harmful material to a minor, a misdemeanor.

The charge stems from November 2019, when a 15-year-old boy told police that Emond had sent him sexually explicit messages and touched him inappropriately.

Emond was a friend of the boy’s family and lived on the family’s property for several months in 2019, according to court documents.

The boy said Emond groped him on more than one occasion and propositioned him multiple times.

Emond also reportedly sent numerous pornographic pictures and videos to the boy via text message.

Prosecutors charged Emond in March 2020 with two counts of sexual abuse of a child, as well as with disseminating harmful material to a minor.

As part of a pretrial settlement offer, prosecutors dropped one felony charge and Emond pleaded guilty to the remaining charges.

District Judge John Mitchell sentenced Emond in December 2020 to 15 years in prison, with four years fixed and one year credit for time served.

“What you did was bizarre and disturbing,” he said before handing down the sentence. “You’ve created victims. You abused the trust within that family.”

Mitchell opted to retain jurisdiction in the case, which prosecutors recommended.

This means Emond would spend up to a year in a jail treatment program, called a rider, before Mitchell either placed him on probation or sent him to prison.

However, Emond failed to report to jail to serve his rider.

A warrant was issued for his arrest.

Police reportedly took Emond into custody in Missoula County, Mont. on Friday afternoon.

He remains in jail without bond pending his next court appearance.