Boston Sexual Abuse Lawyer Blog

The Boston Globe reported today that Carney Hospital fired the staff of its adolescent psychiatry unit Thursday, after an investigation into an employee's alleged sexual assault of a patient uncovered serious patient safety problems.

Hospital president Bill Walczak told the Globe that he hired former attorney general Scott Harshbarger and his law firm to investigate the assault allegation and conditions on the 14-bed locked unit for extremely troubled teens. When he read Harshbarger's report Thursday, Walczak said he decided to replace the nurses and other staff on the unit.

The report described "serious concerns about patient safety and quality of care on the unit. It was not functioning properly. It was recommended by them to start over on the unit,'' Walczak told the Globe in an interview. "We will have top- notch employees replace those who left. My goal is to make it the best unit in the state.''

He did not provide details of the alleged assault or patient safety concerns, or comment on why the entire staff was dismissed, given that the allegation involved one employee and one patient.

The Globe reports that Walczak said he was told about the accusations a month ago, soon after the incident allegedly occurred, and immediately reported it to state mental health officials and put the unit's staff on administrative leave.

The hospital did not notify law enforcement because attorneys told its executives that it is up to the patient and his or her family to report the incident to police.

Former state Sen. Joseph "Jim" Marzilli is out of jail, outfitted with a GPS monitor, two months after pleading guilty to sexually-laden incidents in Lowell, reports the Boston Herald.

Marzilli, who declined to comment to the Herald when reached at his Arlington home, was released from the Billerica House of Correction on April 29 even though he was sentenced to three months behind bars on Feb. 21 for a 2008 spree during which he accosted four women over a four-hour period.

Marzilli must complete five years of probation along with sex offender treatment and other therapy, according to the Probation Department. He will not have to register as a sex offender. Marzilli has to wear the GPS device for one year, and must stay away from his victims.

He also will pay roughly $3,000 in victim's assistance, GPS upkeep and probation department fees and complete 200 hours of community service.

The Boston Globe reports that a Dorchester man kidnapped a 15-year-old girl from an area street on May 7 and held her captive while forcing her to work as a prostitute in motels in Quincy, Danvers, and Dorchester.

The girl escaped last weel when the suspect left her alone at the Best Western Adams Inn in Quincy. She ran from the hotel room and went to the lobby, where she reached out to relatives through Facebook and pleaded for their help, Assistant Norfolk District Attorney Erin Murphy said in court.

Norman S. Barnes, 29, pleaded not guilty in Quincy District Court to charges of kidnapping and enticing a minor into prostitution.

Authorities said at least two relatives arrived at the motel at the same time Barnes returned there Thursday. A relative of the girl summoned a state trooper working a paid detail on the Neponset River Bridge reconstruction project. The trooper arrested Barnes and helped rescue the girl. Barnes also had $19,000 in cash on him.

The Globe reported that the burly Barnes appeared in court with his jacket pulled over his face and his hands cuffed in front of him.

The case illustrates why Massachusetts needs to enact legislation against human trafficking. Massachusetts is one of four states that do not have a specific law against sex slavery; prosecutors back a bill proposed by Attorney General Martha Coakley.

Douglas L. Wright, 41, of North Chelmsford, Mass ., was sentenced to five years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release for transportation and possession of child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Carmen M. Ortiz, and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Field Office.

Wright was sentenced this week by United States District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro in Boston. On February 17, 2011, Wright pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. In pleading guilty, Wright admitted to using an online, peer-to-peer file sharing program to transmit computer files containing visual depictions of prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Wright, a former middle school teacher, also admitted to being interested in child pornography for several years.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

The Metrowest Daily News reports that a Framingham man accused of sexual assaulting a woman at the Red Roof Inn on Sunday skipped his Framingham District Court arraignment this week.

Judge Robert Greco issued a warrant for Richard Freeman's arrest when he failed to appear in court.

Framingham Police arrested Freeman, 54, on Sunday at 5:40 p.m. after a woman reported she was assaulted in a room at the motel, 650 Cochituate Road, according to a police report filed in Framingham District Court by Officer Steven Patriarca.

The woman said she was sitting outside her room when Freeman started talking to her. She said he made her feel uncomfortable.

"He said, 'I am not a rapist and I don't hit women,"' Patriarca said, and the woman told police that she found the statement strange, according to the newspaper.

After a while, the woman decided to go back to her room, but Freeman stuck his foot in the door and asked her to go out for a beer. She declined. She went into the bathroom, and when she came out Freeman was sitting on her bed, drinking a beer. The woman said Freeman had locked the door, Patriarca said.

Freeman stuck his hand up the leg of the woman's shorts, under her panties and attempted to touch her, the woman told police.

The woman pulled away and grabbed a knife.

"She said, 'Get out or I will cut off your (expletive),"' Patriarca said.

Freeman said, "Whoa, whoa," and left, the officer wrote in his report.

When police found Freeman later, he denied being in the woman's room. He said they had driven together to buy beer, but he never touched her.

Police arrested Freeman and charged him with indecent assault and battery on a person older than 14 and disorderly conduct.

Freeman, who listed the motel as his address, was released without bail after being booked at the station and was ordered to appear in court yesterday at 9 a.m. He did not show.

Read more: Judge issues warrant for Framingham sex assault suspect - Framingham, Massachusetts - The Framingham Tab http://www.wickedlocal.com/framingham/news/x242758750/Judge-issues-warrant-for-Framingham-sex-assault-suspect#ixzz1MCLzIMnm