MALDEN, Mass. — A former Wakefield fire captain pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually assaulting a 19-year-old.
Only Boston 25's camera was there as Christopher Smith faced a judge in Malden District Court.
Smith ran from the camera outside the courtroom. But he did tell a judge that he's been undergoing weekly addiction counseling since his arrest.
Smith, who was stripped of his job as a longtime firefighter, now works as a contractor for a water main company.
His defense attorney, Greg Johnson, said Smith "is prepared to accept the court’s proposed recommendation."
Investigators say the incident happened while Smith, who worked at the Wakefield Fire Department for more than two decades, was off duty.
Prosecutors charged Smith in January after they say he drunkenly groped his daughter's 19-year-old friend at a Christmas party at his home in 2015. The victim, who was in the courtroom with her family, declined comment.
As part of his plea deal, Smith must serve 18 months probation, abstain from alcohol and undergo a sex offender evaluation.
Assistant District Attorney Jacob McCrindle said the state recommendation includes Smith registering as a sex offender. But Smith's lawyer is fighting to keep him off the sex offender registry, saying Smith doesn't fit the profile of a sexual predator.
"The motion for your honor is to relieve him of the obligation to register, he is not being incarcerated," Johnson said.
That hearing will be held Nov. 29.