Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

A former special education teacher in Quincy public schools has pleaded guilty to sex charges in Plymouth Superior Court, the Patriot Ledger reported.

A Quincy, Massachusetts defense lawyer experienced in handling Massachusetts sex crimes should represent anyone facing allegations of sexually assaulting a child in Massachusetts.

In this case, the defendant pleaded guilty to charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, providing obscene material to a child, and possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, followed by 5 years of probation. Each of the charges carried a maximum sentence of 2 years; no more than a 10-year sentence could have been imposed on the sexual assault charge.

The girl was 9-years-old at the time of the abuse. The charges accused the defendant of inviting the girl to an upstairs office at his home in Halifax, where he forced her to touch him while pornography played on the television, according to the Patriot Ledger. Prosecutors said the abuse happened on several occasions between 2006 and 2007.

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A 33-year-old former teacher at Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School has been sentenced to jail after being found guilty of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old student, the Worcester Telegram reported.

A Worcester defense lawyer experienced in fighting for the rights of clients charged with Massachusetts sex crimes should be called to defend anyone facing sexual assault charges in Central District Court. Sex crimes, particularly allegations of sex crimes involving children in Massachusetts, can be devastating and can result in serious jail time, job loss and loss of reputation.

In this case, the defendant was found guilty of indecent assault and battery on a child after a jury trial. The six-member jury found that the defendant touched the girl in an inappropriate manner in a classroom in September 2002. The defendant taught at the school from 1999 to 2003.

The Webster man was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and must serve six months of the sentence. The balance will be suspended for five years of probation. As a condition of probation, the defendant is allowed to have no contact with the victim or her family and no contact with children under 16.

He also must register as a sex offender, obtain sex offender counseling and submit to electronic monitoring. Charges remain pending against the defendant, accusing him of three counts of indecent assault and battery. Those charges allege he had inappropriate contact with three other students at the school. Those cases have been continued until March 2.

Still pending against Mr. Soule are three additional counts of indecent assault and battery on a child involving three other alleged victims who were students of his at the school. Those cases have been continued to March 2.

The defendant had been working as an instructional assistant at the Seven Hills Charter Public School until he was arraigned on the charges April 13. The school has since placed him on leave and banned him from school property.

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court overturned a defendant's conviction for attempting to disseminate matter harmful to a minor under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 272 Section 28 and 31. The defendant was charged with a Massachusetts sex crime that would require him to have to register as a sex offender.

The case arose out of an effort to uncover online crimes involving child pornography and child enticement. As part of the investigation, an undercover police officer set up a fake online screen name and profile, pretending to be a 13 year-old, eighth grade student. The screen account that was set up, encouraged users to make contact through instant messaging.

The defendant was found guilty of having attempted to disseminate harmful matter to a minor as a result of the content of his instant messages. He was convicted and sentence to one year in prison according to the Boston Herald.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, vacated his conviction on the grounds that the statute he was convicted under did not define instant messaging as matter as defined in the statute. The SJC emphasized that "matter" is defined by the statute as any handwritten or printed material, visual representation, live performance or sound recording, including but not limited to books, magazines, motion picture films, pamphlets, pictures, figures, statues, plays, dances. Within this definition, online conversations were not included by the legislature. The court held that because the statute was a criminal statute, the court would have to construe the statute strictly in favor of the defendant. Applying this legal principle, the court held that the defendants' conduct did not fall within the conducted prohibited by the statute and vacated the conviction.

While the court acknowledged that the legislative intent would have been to criminalize the defendant's conduct, the court stressed that it could not expand the intent of the statute and called on the legislature to amend the statute to criminalize the defendant's conduct.

In this case, the Massachusetts criminal lawyer did a skillful job of preserving the issue of the language of the statute for appeal to ultimately prevail in what was clearly a difficult case to defend.

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A 47-year-old South Boston man is in jail on $100,000 bail for Massachusetts child pornography charges, including one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distributing child pornography.

A Boston defense lawyer experienced in handling Massachusetts Internet pornography charges and child pornography charges should be called to represent anyone charged with a Massachusetts sex crime. In particular, Internet pornography charges are becoming far more common, as are cases where another computer user, or even a computer virus, is found to be responsible for the images.

In this case, the Boston Herald reported that investigators uncovered one of the world's largest child-porn collections, depicting girls as young as 5 or 6 years old having sex with men. Authorities allegedly found 16,000 child porn files on file-sharing software contained on the defendant's computer.

The defendant, who is the father of five adult children, reportedly made a confession to officers but he pleaded not guilty to both counts at his arraignment in South Boston District Court. His defense attorney called the technology investigators use to track Internet pornography "flawed," and said the number of files had no relevance to the case at all.

The investigation began after an alert from Pennsylvania authorities that the defendant could be sharing files containing child pornography.

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A Hopedale man is facing a Massachusetts Indecent Assault and Battery charge on a child under the age of 14, accosting or annoying a person of the opposite sex and assault and battery after being arrested by Hopedale police, according to the Milford Daily News.

A Milford defense attorney experienced in handling sex crimes in Massachusetts should defend anyone facing a sex crime in Milford District Court.

Arrest of the 50-year-old Fieldstone Way man followed a two-week investigation by the Hopedale Police Departement. The Worcester District Attorney Child Abuse Unit notified police on Dec. 17 of an incident involving indecent assault and battery of a child under the age of 14.

The Worcester District Attorney's office said the report came from a Hopedale school employee. Police said the incident occurred Dec. 12 but released no other details.

The defendant was arraigned this week in Milford District Court and released on personal recognizance. A pre-trial is set for early next month.

An experienced Milford defense attorney can work on behalf of clients charged with DUI or other serious traffic or criminal offenses, including Massachusetts sex crimes, in Milford District Court. Through pre-trial conferences with prosecutors, a Milford defense lawyer will be able to take a look at the state's case and work with clients to achieve the best outcome possible in their case.

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A 22-year-old registered sex offender is being held on $1 million cash bail after he was arrested Tuesday night on a warrant listing three counts of aggravated felonious assault, the Milford Daily News reported.

Assault on a child is a very serious allegation. In this case the allegation goes back 7 years and the case is complicated by the defendant's previous conviction for a sex crime and the fact that the alleged crime occurred in New Hampshire. A Milford defense attorney experienced in representing clients charged with Massachusetts sex crimes would also consider the fact that the alleged crime took place prior to the defendant's 2007 conviction and entry into the sex offender registry.

The Douglas man was arrested shortly before 8:30 p.m. after being pulled over by police. The warrant was issued by the juvenile unit of the Manchester, N.H. Police Department and involve an alleged incident seven years ago regarding the sexual assault of a child under the age of 13, according to the Daily News.

The man was convicted in 2007 of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14, according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry. He is scheduled to appear in Milford District Court.

Following his Massachusetts court appearance, Manchester Police said the defendant will likely be taken to New Hampshire to answer the charges there. If found guilty, he could face a 10- to 20-year sentence, according to the Daily News.

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