In a troubling development, a registered sex offender with a history of child abuse is now facing an additional charge of witness tampering. This charge comes after he allegedly attempted to smuggle a letter from jail, imploring his most recent victim to cease cooperation with law enforcement.

Matthew “Nate” Boegel, age 27, was taken into custody in October. He faces charges of felony sexual abuse of minors and for breaching the terms of his previous release, following his earlier convictions on child sex offenses. This information was reported by The Maine Wire.

The police in Rockland, Maine, recently uncovered that Boegel penned a letter to his latest victim. He attempted to pass this message through another inmate, who was due for release, with instructions to deliver it to the victim personally.

Upon discovering this plan, authorities promptly investigated the matter and subsequently filed a witness tampering charge against Boegel.

Boegel’s criminal record includes a prior conviction for the rape of two young girls, aged 12 and 13, when he was 18. Despite the severity of these crimes, he served only nine months in jail. Shortly after his release, and while still on probation, he was again found guilty of abusing girls aged 14 to 16 and providing them with marijuana.

He is on Maine’s sex offender registry and again violated the terms of his release when he was picked up in October.