Joseph Charest, 46, last known address of 29 Capron Road, Milford

NASHUA — Joseph Charest, who lived at 29 Capron Road in Milford when Nashua police arrested him in late summer 2011 on a total of 26 charges — 21 of which accused him of sexually assaulting an underage girl — is scheduled to appear in Superior Court today for a hearing on a petition he filed asking the judge to suspend the remainder of his prison sentence.

Charest, now 46, went to trial in November 2014 and was convicted of seven charges — five counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault (family member); and one count each of aggravated felonious sexual assault and witness tampering — and was sentenced in February 2015 to 10-20 years in State Prison.

Charest became eligible to petition the court to suspend his remaining sentence once he served at least two-thirds of the minimum, in accordance with a new statute passed by the state legislature and signed into law several years ago.

Charest is scheduled to appear before Judge Charles Temple in Hillsborough County Superior Court South this morning to present his case for sentence suspension. In response to Charest’s petition, prosecutors filed an objection with the court.

At the time of Charest’s arrest, Nashua police filed nine of the charges on Aug. 30, 2011, then three days later filed 17 additional counts, according to court documents.

The offenses Charest was accused of committing occurred over a roughly 18-month period between Jan. 1, 2010 and the end of June 2011.

His arrest followed what police described at the time as an “ongoing investigation conducted by the Youth Services Division,” in which a teenage female, who knew Charest, disclosed she had been romantically involved with him when she was 15 and 16 years old, police said.

Police said Charest later tried to have the victim lie about the facts surrounding the case, which prompted the witness tampering charges.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.