Robert LeBlanc, a decades-long member of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee, resigned from the party after Essex County prosecutors charged him with child rape and multiple counts of indecent assault, according to a spokesperson for the party.
Massachusetts Democratic Party spokesman Matt Wilder said LeBlanc submitted his resignation after Chair Steve Kerrigan requested he step down. LeBlanc had served on the state committee since 2002 and was its one-time deputy legal counsel in 2006, Wilder said.
LeBlanc pleaded not guilty to charges of rape of a child, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, and attempt to commit crime, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office.
At an arraignment earlier this week, LeBlanc, 80, of Methuen, was ordered to report to the Methuen Police Department for booking, that he stay away and have no contact with any victim or witness in the case, and that he have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18, Essex County DA Paul Tucker said in a statement.
LeBlanc is scheduled to return to court May 20, according to the Essex County District Attorney’s Office.
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