Waterford man pleads guilty to fonding children

A 36-year-old Waterford man pleaded guilty Thursday to sexually assaulting two of his girlfriend's children at their Norwich home between May and August 2008.

Torrance Furr will be sentenced May 6 to 10 years in prison, suspended after two years served and five years probation for risk of injury to a minor and fourth-degree sexual assault. He will be required to register as a sex offender with the state Department of Public Safety.

Norwich police began investigating after a 10-year-old female confided to a social worker that her mother's boyfriend had been touching her private parts when he baby-sat while the mother was at work, according to prosecutor Theresa Anne Ferryman. The girl's 6-year-old brother also was interviewed and revealed that Furr would touch and fondle him while the mother was in the shower, Ferryman said.

The mother told Ferryman she would have preferred a longer prison sentence, but said she was relieved that, as a result of a plea agreement that Furr accepted, her children would not have to testify at trial.