Sexual Abuse

After years of trying to strike a compromise, the House voted unanimously on Wednesday to extend the statute of limitations for victims of child sexual assault to bring civil claims against their abusers. The bill (H 4126) would allow victims of child sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits up until the time they turn 53 […]

A registered sex offender from Lowell is facing charges for allegedly raping a girl over several years, starting when she was 6. Philip St. Hilaire was held on $100,000 bail after pleading not guilty to statutory rape of a child and indecent assault and battery of a child. Prosecutors say the girl, now 13, disclosed […]

A Chandler, Arizona man was charged with driving a 14-year-old boy from Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Arizona and having sex with him, KNXV-TV reported. Brad David Cooper, 47, admitted to posing as a 16-year-old boy named “Trent” and talking with the 14-year-old over the phone, online and through video chat, a police reported cited by KNXV […]

A Vermont jury has ordered a Massachusetts man to pay $35 million in a child sex abuse case. The jury reached the verdict Friday against Scott Isaacson of Hyannis, Mass., for allegations of repeated sexual abuse of a girl when she was between 3 and 9 years old. Lawyers say some of those incidents of […]

Troy (NY) Police, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals have been looking for 25-year-old Jesse Sawyer since last week. He is accused of having sexual contact with three little girls he knew, ages six, four and three, and taking still photos of the abuse. Recent tips have now led police to look for him in […]

A Level 3 sex offender who once won $10 million from the lottery was ordered held on $5 million cash bail amid allegations that he sexually assaulted a boy “continuously” over a four-year period. Daniel Snay, 62, of Uxbridge, was arrested in March and charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under the […]

The NH Union Leader reports that two Massachusetts men were arrested at a Salem NH motel on charges they induced a 15-year-old girl who had run away from home to act as a prostitute. Andy Pena, 19, was ordered held on $150,000 cash bail after his arraignment in 10th Circuit Court, Salem District Division, on […]

The Union Leader reports that a former Lawrence, Mass., police officer recently found not guilty of sexual assault charges in Florida is now expected to face trial in a second case from the 1990s involving a Salem NH girl. Carlos Gonzalez III, 48, was released on $100,000 personal recognizance bail in Rockingham County Superior Court […]

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reports that a custodian at a Chicopee high school has been charged with offering a male student drugs, money and an iPhone in exchange for sexual favors. Timothy Lynch is free on $5,000 bail after pleading not guilty to charges including indecent assault and battery on a child, assault to rape a […]

The retired Fall River firefighter and former youth sports coach accused of molesting two boys and making advances toward another youth pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment in Fall River Superior Court, as reported by the Dedham Transcript. Wesley Allardice, 62, of 1307 President Ave., was previously indicted on nine charges, including […]

Published: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 A former longtime teacher at Episcopal Academy is facing a sexual abuse of children offense after child pornography was found on his home computer, according to a complaint filed Tuesday by Pennsylvania State Police. Richard Perkins Smith, 65, of Middletown, is currently behind bars at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility […]

A Cape Coral, Florida, community has been rocked after a man in their neighborhood was arrested on a capital sexual warrant in another state. Cape Coral police say the man, Jeffrey Leclair, fled to Massachusetts during an investigation accusing him of sexual abuse on a 7-year-old girl. Neighbors say it all started with a note […]

Good story on boston.com concerning lawmakers contemplating the creation of a state task force charged with developing policies and training requirements for organizations that serve children.

The City of Salem will hold training on how to protect children from sexual abuse. Children’s Trust Fund, a Boston-based organization that aims to eliminate child abuse in Massachusetts, is leading the free “Keeping Kids Safe” prevention program, which will be held this coming Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the YMCA of the […]

A married couple from Northbridge has been convicted of sexually abusing two children. Joseph Mayotte was found guilty in Worcester Superior Court of charges including child rape aggravated by age difference and indecent assault and battery on a child. Prosecutors say the 50-year-old Mayotte sexually abused a girl over a five-year period beginning in 2004 […]

A lawsuit filed in Minnesota charges The Diocese of Crookston (Minn), the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts and the Servants of the Paraclete group with a dozen counts of nuisance and negligence in their handling of former Priest James Porter. Porter admitted or was linked to the abuse of more than 100 young boys and […]

The Boston Globe reports that a New York man was arraigned today on charges of sexually abusing four boys while he was the swim coach at the Arlington Boys & Girls Club during the late 1970s. Paul Collins, 62, who was arrested Friday in his Long Island home, pleaded not guilty in Cambridge District Court, […]

A Massachusetts grand jury has indicted a former longtime Episcopal Academy teacher with sexually abusing four children at a religious summer camp in 1981. Richard P. Smith, 65, of Pennsylvania, was indicted by a Barnstable County Grand Jury this week on charges of rape of a child, indecent assault and battery and five counts of […]

The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is encouraging parents and guardians to learn more about child sexual abuse with a new publication, Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse, a collaborative effort with Massachusetts Citizens for Children (MCC). As reports of child sexual abuse increase at Massachusetts schools and with the Penn State and church pedophile scandals […]

According to The Boston Globe, a seasoned Foxborough police officer has now been assigned a full-time role, tasked with unraveling the town’s history. This investigation aims to comprehend how a former town teacher and Boy Scout leader could commit sexual offenses against numerous minors over decades. Since last September, 28 men have bravely stepped forward […]

The Boston Globe reports that the Arlington Boys & Girls Club has discovered multiple allegations that a former and now deceased employee sexually abused children at the club between the 1970s and 1990s. The allegations of sexual abuse are against William ­Sullivan of West Roxbury, who passed away more than a ­decade ago and who […]