A man convicted of sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl in Canandaigua, New York 15 years ago is facing new charges in Massachusetts after he allegedly failed to register as a sex offender there.
Michael J. Frediani, 38, was found guilty of first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree aggravated sexual abuse and endangering the welfare of a child in 1996 after fondling a girl in Canandaigua while visiting her family for Thanksgiving. He spent less than three years in prison after pleading guilty to the charges. Frediani was then listed as a Level 3 sex offender in New York.
Police in Springfield, Mass., charged Frediani Thursday with failing to register as a sex offender.
Frediani currently works as a manager of Holy Grounds Coffee House in Springfield. The cafe is the center of the Redemption Gate Mission Society, a Christian organization. The cafe is run by Scott Lively, an anti-gay activist and author of the book “Pink Swastika,” which links homosexuality and Nazism.
Speaking to local media in Springfield, Lively said he didn’t know Frediani was a sex offender.
Frediani moved to East Rochester in October of 2008, where he lived at 210 W. Hickory St. with his girlfriend. In July 2009 he moved to Holyoke, Mass., where he now resides.
According to Barb Montcrieff of the East Rochester Police Department, Frediani said he was moving out of state because he would be “less of a sex offender there.”
East Rochester police said they notified the Massachusetts Division of Criminal Justice Services that Frediani was relocating to the area at that time.
