Sex Offender Charged With Trespassing At Merrimack College

NORTH ANDOVER, MA -- A Level 3 sex offender who has been spending time in Andover and North Andover in recent months will be arraigned Tuesday on trespassing charges stemming from an incident last week at Merrimack College. North Andover Police have logged more than 80 complaints against Deborah Moccia, 63, in recent months, including six no trespass orders.

Moccia, who was formerly known as Paul Charbonneau, has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1972 that includes 40 violent crimes. In August, she was arrested on a warrant for failing to appear for her arraignment in Salem Superior Court. Last month residents in Andover and North Andover began posting warnings on social media after she was seen in those towns.

Moccia is currently under indictment for failing to report her change of address to Lawrence Police. Judge Timothy Feeley freed Moccia, rejecting a prosecution request to hold her on $5,000 bail. If convicted, Moccia faces a mandatory sentence of at least five years in jail. "She really has nowhere to go," Feeley reportedly said. "She is well-known to local police....It won't be hard to bring her back to court."

Moccia, described in court documents as a "not-fully-transitioned transgender person," is currently on probation for threatening two district court judges. She has been homeless since last year, after which she spent time in Haverhiill. Officials there issued a no trespass order against her after receiving several public complaints.

Under state classifications, Level 3 sex offenders are considered at the highest risk to re-offend. Moccia was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a person aged 14 or older in 1986 and 2003, and of open and gross lewdness and lascivious behavior in 2007 and 2014.

Feeley, who has been criticized for a string of decisions in bail and sentencing hearings, noted during last month's hearing that failing to register as a sex offender is not an offense where prosecutors can request that someone be held without bail. Feeley noted he did not consider whether Moccia was dangerous because Essex County prosecutors had not asked him to do so.

See Moccia's entry in the state's sex offender database.

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Photo by Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).