A man from Lunenburg reached a deal in a lewd behavior case three days

A man from Lunenburg reached a deal in a lewd behavior case three days into his Essex Superior Court trial that calls for him to spend 90 days in jail. Matthew Chase, 41, pleaded no contest to the felony lewd and lascivious conduct charge and was sentenced to one to three years in jail, all suspended except for 90 days. He was ordered to report to the jail in St. Johnsbury by 5 p.m. on Sept. 6. As part of the deal reached between Essex County State’s Attorney Vince Illuzzi and defense attorney Corby Gary, two charges of sexual assault were dismissed. The charges date back to 2017, and no deal was reached until Friday, three days after Chase’s jury trial had begun. The initial charges were for alleged criminal behavior that dated back to May 2016, when Chase was 34. At the time, the female victim of his lewd conduct was 15 years old.