Man had sex with boy for a year, police say

Eagle Tribune

Man had sex with boy for a year, police sayAccused 'predator' ordered held without bail

By Mike LaBella
mlabella@eagletribune.com

HAVERHILL — A man who shared a bed with a 12-year-old boy had sex with him repeatedly for nearly a year, according to a police report on the case.

Police said Jeffrey Perry, 39, told them the sexual activity began in September 2008 when Perry was living in Lawrence, and that it continued when he moved to Haverhill this year and up until his arrest two weeks ago.

Perry had sex with the boy as many as five times a weeks, according to the police report on file at Haverhill District Court. Perry was in that court yesterday for a hearing to determine whether he is a danger to society. He was ordered to remain behind bars without bail.

Two weeks ago, police arrested Perry of 99 Emerson St. and charged him with four counts of rape of a child under 14, 10 counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, and disseminating pornographic material to a minor. Perry is a convicted Level 1 sex offender, police said.

Police said Perry told them that he and the boy would often view pornography online, with the boy sometimes choosing what adult Web site to view. Police have confiscated Perry's computer. The Eagle-Tribune is withholding the boy's name.

Police said they stumbled upon the relationship between Perry and the boy while looking for clues in a fire investigation. They were living in the apartment of a suspected arsonist who knows the boy well, police said. They described Perry as a sexual predator who bought the boy gifts to gain his trust before convincing him to engage in sex.

At Perry's arraignment in Haverhill District Court on Aug. 11, he was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing. That hearing took place yesterday. Judge Stephen Abany ordered Perry held without bail and to appear for a probable cause hearing Sept. 16.

On Monday Aug. 10, Detective Carl Rogers and state police Sgt. Paul Zipper went to the 99 Emerson St. apartment of suspected arsonist Patricia Mandigo, 55, also known as Patricia Rogers, to investigate her role in three fires set in her apartment building the day before, and at an apartment building at 94 Emerson St., where she was living when it was destroyed by fire in December.

Mandigo was charged with eight counts of arson of a dwelling and is being held without bail at MCI-Framingham until her probable cause hearing Sept. 4. She also may face additional charges in connection with the sexual misconduct case against Perry.

While speaking with Perry and the boy, the officers got inconsistent stories about where they were and what they saw that Sunday morning when Mandigo allegedly set three small fires in and around her building.

"During the course of the interview we realized these two, Perry and the victim, are sharing a bed," Zipper had said. "It seemed clearly odd."

He said the inconsistencies in the stories were so stark that they brought Perry to the police station, where, during an interview, he admitted to having sex with the boy several times. The boy later confirmed Perry had been sexually abusing him, police said.

Zipper said Perry and his elderly mother had been staying in Mandigo's apartment with Mandigo and her husband for several months. Mandigo and the boy know each other well, police said.

Investigators said Mandigo has admitted setting eight fires, including a three-alarm blaze that destroyed an apartment building at 94 Emerson St. on Dec. 6, 2007, leaving 23 people homeless. Three tenants were injured, as were three Haverhill firefighters. She was living in that building at the time of the fire.

In each instance, according to police, Mandigo said she set the fires due to having "a bad night" or being angry at someone.

Boston Globe 234 sex offenders eligible for GPS monitor review

Boston Globe

234 sex offenders eligible for GPS monitor review

By John R. Ellement

Globe Staff / August 29, 2009

Russell Cory wants out of his prison cell, and he wants to walk around Bristol County without being tracked by the state.

Cory is the Level 3 sex offender whose attorney convinced a majority of the state Supreme Judicial Court that a 2006 law mandating GPS monitoring of sex offenders is unconstitutional.

“The GPS bracelet shouldn’t have been in there in the first place,’’ said Theodore Riordan, Cory’s Quincy-based appellate attorney. “He just felt that justice was done and that he shouldn’t have been wearing it all along.’’

Cory is not alone. According to the office of the probation commissioner, 234 convicted sex offenders are wearing GPS bracelets as a result of a court order.

It is not clear how many offenders will be able to successfully argue that the SJC ruling also applies to them. Some prosecutors have said the ruling still allows judges to use their discretion and order the monitors.

The 2006 law said that anyone convicted of a sex crime who is placed on probation prior to 2006 must have a GPS attached.

In a 4-3 ruling Aug. 18, the SJC majority said the law was unconstitutional because it retroactively punished offenders.

The Probation Department, which is an arm of the court system, said in a statement that most of the 234 offenders may qualify to get rid of their GPS monitors.

“Although, perhaps the majority of the 234 cases were ordered on GPS pursuant to [the 2006 state law] requiring removal of the GPS device, there may be instances where GPS was ordered discretionarily and the condition of GPS will remain in effect. Until each case is reviewed in court, it is difficult to ascertain a precise number of offenders that will be removed from GPS due to the Cory decision,’’ the Probation Office said in its statement.

Laurie Myers, president of a Lowell-based victims rights group called Community Voices, said she is concerned about the safety of children in Massachusetts in the wake of the SJC ruling.

“Who is watching these guys?’’ she said. “The answer is nobody. You hold your breath, and you hope that another kid isn’t victimized. That’s all we can do in Massachusetts, because our hands are tied.’’

Myers said she hopes judges embrace the view that they still have the power to require the electronic monitoring, based on the information about an offender they learn in court.

“It’s a tool that could be used to keep the public safe,’’ she said, adding that studies show that sex offenders have a high rate of committing new crimes. “They are not like any other criminal. These guys need to be closely monitored and supervised.’’

William Leahy, chief counsel for the Committee on Public Counsel Services, said the public defender agency has instructed attorneys to push for the removal of the monitors where legally justified.

Cory is behind bars at the Bristol County House of Correction serving a 2 1/2-year sentence for violating probation, a sentence imposed earlier this year. In 1997, Cory admitted to committing sex crimes against a 5-year-old girl, according to court records. He has been imprisoned because he did not wear the required GPS device when he was out on probation.

But following the SJC case, Cory’s attorney has filed paperwork in Bristol Superior Court demanding a change in the sentence. Riordan, who is working with Fall River attorney Rene Brown on Cory’s case, said justice requires it.

“It could lead to his release,’’ Riordan said.

John Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com.

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/29/234_sex_offenders_eligible_for_gps_monitor_review?mode=PF

Registered sex offender accused of abusing adopted son

NBC 10 NEWS
August 24, 2009

ATTLEBORO, Mass.—A convicted sex offender was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail after being charged with sexually abusing his mentally challenged adopted son over the last three years.

James Ramaglia, of Attleboro, was arraigned in Attleboro District Court on Monday. He was charged with four counts of rape of a minor.

His wife, Linda, was arrested on Monday on a charge of reckless endangerment of a child, for knowing about the alleged abuse and not reporting it. She’s scheduled to be arraigned later Monday afternoon.

The adopted son is 19 years old. Police said James Ramaglia began sexually abusing him when he was 16.

According to police, James Ramaglia performed numerous sexual acts on his adopted son, forced his son to perform sexual acts on him, and forced him to view pornography.

At one point, the adopted son told police his father told him he was having sex with him “because my wife can’t satisfy me.“

The adopted son’s brother, Nathan, alerted police after the adopted son told him that their father was sexually molesting him.

“He told me my father was sexually molesting him,“ Nathan Ramaglia said.

The adopted son’s biological mother said she can’t understand how her son ended up in the home of a convicted child molester on probation.

“I trusted these people to watch over my children and they betrayed my trust. I’m glad justice is being served. My son does not deserve this,“ Theresa Maks said.

The Massachusetts Department of Children, Youth and Families declined to comment because of the ongoing investigation.

James Ramaglia served four-and-a-half years in prison for molesting his other two kids.

http://www2.turnto10.com/jar/news/local/article/registered_sex_offender_accused_of_abusing_adopted_son/22157/

Assault suspect pleads innocent

Lowell Sun

By Lisa Redmond, lredmond@lowellsun.com

08/27/2009

AYER -- A Level 2 sex offender from Florida is facing rape charges after being accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at Westford's town beach earlier this month.

Thomas William Hickey, 25, now of Westford, pleaded innocent in Ayer District Court to two counts of rape in connection with an Aug. 8 incident at Forge Beach.

But at a hearing yesterday, prosecutors withdrew a request for a dangerousness hearing, opting instead that Hickey continue to be held without bail until he can be fitted with an electronic monitoring bracelet next Tuesday.

At the hearing on Tuesday, a judge will decide if Hickey will be confined to 24-hour house arrest or be allowed to leave his house during certain hours of the day.

Prosecutor Elizabeth Dunigan alleges that on Aug. 8, the 16-year-old girl was at the beach with her younger brother, who was fishing. Hickey allegedly approached the brother and sister, who did not know Hickey, and told the brother that the fishing was better further down the beach. When the boy moved away to fish, Hickey allegedly raped the girl.

The victim didn't report the incident until Aug. 15.

According to Florida's sex-offender registry, Hickey has two prior sexual-offender convictions.

Former Warren sex offender arrested at beach

Former Warren sex offender arrested at beach
Paul Stockford is held without bail after allegedly propositioning two young girls

By Abigail Crocker

8/26/2009

WARREN — An incident involving a registered sex offender with a history in Warren lead to the Aug. 18 arrest and something Attorney General Patrick Lynch said “spotlights the wisdom of Rhode Island’s existing law regarding violations of probation.”

According to DEM Police and Narragansett Police, Paul Stockfold, 42, now a Cranston resident, allegedly approached a 13-year-old girl and her 12-year-old friend who were walking along the water’s edge of Scarborough Beach and then asked them if they would take his bathing suit off. When they said no, the man asked if they would take their bathing suits off. They said no and ran back toward the 13-year-old’s mother, who promptly called the police. The girls later identified the man, who turned out to be Mr. Stockford, as he was being questioned by DEM Police on the beach.

On Wednesday, Aug. 19, Washington County Superior Court Judge Edwin J. Gale ordered Mr. Stockford held without bail pending an Aug. 26 determination of attorney conference and a Sept. 2 violation hearing.

Mr. Stockford has been charged with at least three sexual offenses in Massachusetts since 1993. He also was charged with failing to properly register as a sex offender when he moved to Warren from Pawtucket in 2007.

Mr. Stockford was arrested by Warren police in August 2007 after police in Seekonk said he exposed himself to a six-year-old girl at a Lowe’s home improvement store in that town. At the time, Warren police didn’t know he was a sex offender, and didn’t know he was living in Warren until being alerted by Seekonk police.

At the time, Seekonk police got involved after employees at the Lowe’s superstore on Route 6 called to report a man who had exposed himself to a young girl in the store’s lighting section and employees jotted down his license plate number. Seekonk then issued a warrant for Mr. Stockford’s arrest on a charge of felony open and gross lewdness, subsequent offense, since he been arrested on the same charge earlier.

Under state law, all convicted sex offenders in Rhode Island must register with the police departments in the towns in which they live. According to Warren Police Sgt. Roy Borges, Mr. Stockford was previously registered as an offender in Pawtucket but failed to notify Warren police. All offenders are classified by the state as having a low, moderate or high risk of re-offending and are assigned a risk level 1, 2, or 3 based on their perceived threat and the severity of the crime.

http://www.eastbayri.com/detail/130926.html

Villa admits to child rape

http://www.wickedlocal.com/walpole/sports/x1886185801/Villa-admits-to-child-rape

Walpole Times

Villa admits to child rape

By Keith Ferguson

Wed Aug 26, 2009

DEDHAM - Daniel Villa, who was the “toast of the community” as the football coach who led the Walpole Rebels to a super bowl win last year, will spend two years behind bars after pleading guilty to three counts each of statutory rape and enticing a minor.

The teary-eyed Villa, who was led out of a Norfolk Superior courtroom in handcuffs yesterday afternoon, was also sentenced to seven years of probation upon his release from a county jail.

He was scheduled for a status hearing – were prosecutors present evidence against the defendant and a judge lays out how a trial will proceed.

The former coach, teacher and Walpole High School athletic director pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Dec. 30 of last year and once again at a grand jury indictment in March.

Defense attorneys declined comment on why Villa chose to plea out now, but the former coach did express a desire to put the matter to rest for all those involved.

“I’m thirsty for a clear conscious. A clean slate. A fresh start,” Villa said, who told the court he is currently seeing a therapist.

“He’s accepted responsibility,” said Defense Attorney Peter Ball. “He didn’t want to cause any further pain to the victim here, or her family.”

Villa first met the victim in fourth grade where he coached her basketball team up until she entered high school.

When the victim started at Walpole high, Norfolk Assistant District Attorney Kate Welch said, she was shy and confided in her former coach.

“When (the victim) got to high school she was very quiet,” Welch said, adding the student and Villa exchanged numbers last October after they spent time together talking in Villa’s office at the high school.

Villa and the girl, who had just turned 16, started text messaging after the number exchange.

“The text messages got out of control,” Welch said, telling the court the prosecution found 3,335 messages from Villa during a two-month time span.

Villa and the student began meeting late at night, mostly on Fridays.

Welch said the 44-year-old Villa would instruct her to sneak out of her parents’ house at around 10 p.m. and meet him at the Old Post Road School. He would then pick her up and drive her to a road off Mylod Street to a housing development in the midst of construction.

During the first and second meetings, the two would talk until around midnight, but the meetings became more sexually charged as they became more frequent.

“The meetings went from talking, to kissing, to a lot of kissing,” Welch said.

On three occasions Villa touched the victim’s genitals above and under her clothing and had the student touch his genitals above his clothing.

The victim’s parents found out about the meetings the week of Dec. 5 after discovering some of the text messages on her phone.

On Dec. 9 at 12:06 a.m., Villa texted the victim saying: “I just know this is wrong and I took it too far. It’s my fault.”

He also told her that week that he “screwed up.”

On Dec. 10, Villa wrote: “I’m so scared right now. I’m sorry.”

The former New England Patriots offensive lineman was questioned by state police on Christmas Eve and soon after was fired from his positions in the school system.

He was arrested in his native Arizona as a fugitive and brought back to Massachusetts to be charged. The Division 2 Super Bowl winner and “Coach of the Year” spent 10 days in jail before making $7,500 bail.

A tearful Villa apologized in court several times to everyone his actions affected.

“I’m very, very, very sorry for the pain I have caused to her and her family,” he said turning to face the victims’ family in the observation section of the court. “A day doesn’t go by that I wish I could take everything back, I apologize from the bottom of my heart.”

In a message to his now ex-wife and four children, Villa said he wasn’t the perfect father, but he tried his hardest.

“I thought I was strong, but I was weak,” he said crying. “I love you, I miss you, and I think of you guys everyday.”

Villa also apologized to the players he coached in Walpole that put their trust in him.

“In many respects, the defendant has punished himself more severely than the court can or will,” Superior Court Judge Paul Chernoff said, noting Villa has lost his family, livelihood and the “reservoir of esteem” he built in Walpole.

Even though Villa doesn’t appear to be a danger to the community, Chernoff said it was important he serve jail time because of the extreme breach of trust and as a message that “abuse of children is not to be tolerated.”

Defense attorneys Ball and Heather Baer argued for a probationary sentence while county prosecutors pushed for three to five years in a state jail and 10 years of probation.

Ball stressed he wasn’t “minimizing the crime” but did point to the “wide array of conduct” and the “wide range of ages” of the statute, implying Villa did not have sex with the girl or force her to do anything and that she was close to the legal age of consent.

Welch argued for a harsher plenty because of the pain Villa’s actions caused.

“The affect has been astronomical on the family,” Welch said, noting the victim’s family was forced to move out of Walpole.

Additionally, some students at the high school showed “ill will” to the 16-year-old because of Villa’s position of leadership, Welch said, “which is not a fair place to put the victim.”

Ball argued incarnating Villa put additional hardships on Villa’s family who, despite his 12 years in the NFL, is not considerably affluent.

The defense attorney also listed a number of “collateral consequences” Villa has gone through.

“The more one has, the more one has to lose,” said Ball.

He argued Villa will never be able to coach children again – a profession he loves – and his reputation has been destroyed.

“Mr. Villa was the toast of his community,” said Ball. “The fall from grace here is almost unimaginable and that is something Mr. Villa will have to live with.”

During his probation, Villa will not be allowed to be in contact with children under 16 the victim or her family. His whereabouts will be monitored by a GPS ankle bracelet and he is forbidden to go near schools. Villa must also attend a sex offender program and register as a sex offender.

If he violates probation terms, Villa will face up to five years in state prison.

Boston Globe

Judge refuses GPS use for rapist

Says SJC ruling ties her hands on such monitoring

By John R. Ellement and Martin Finucane

Globe Staff / August 20, 2009

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/20/judge_refuses_gps_use_for_convicted_boys_rapist/

LOWELL - A Middlesex Superior Court judge refused yesterday to order a convicted child rapist on probation to wear a GPS monitoring device, citing a Supreme Judicial Court ruling that sex offenders convicted before 2006 cannot automatically be forced to wear the devices.

The case centers around sex offender Ralph Goodwin, who was convicted in 1990 of kidnapping a 7-year-old boy and raping him multiple times. When caught, he was carrying the boy in a cardboard box.

Also yesterday, the arm of the court system charged with supervising sex offenders said it would not, or could not, say how many offenders are wearing GPS monitors under its supervision.

“Probation is currently reviewing every sex offender case as a result of the SJC ruling,’’ said Coria Holland, spokeswoman for Probation Commissioner John J. O’Brien. O’Brien’s staff touted the GPS system as “cutting edge’’ when the state first started using it in 2005.

In court yesterday, Superior Court Judge Kathe Tuttman was asked by Middlesex prosecutors to require Goodwin to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet while he lives in Lowell.

After a lengthy prison term and commitment as a sexually dangerous person, he was determined to be no longer dangerous and was released on probation earlier this year. He lives on Merrimack Street in Lowell, according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board.

Speaking from the bench, Tuttman said Tuesday’s SJC ruling tied her hands.

“Under these circumstances, I am legally prohibited from imposing GPS monitoring on Mr. Goodwin,’’ Tuttman said.

Tuttman made clear, however, that if Goodwin had violated probation, she would have ordered the monitoring system to be used.

In a 4-3 ruling Tuesday, the SJC said sex offenders convicted before 2006 cannot automatically be forced to wear GPS devices, because it creates an unconstitutional burden on their freedom. The court said the 2006 law cannot apply retroactively.

Goodwin’s attorney, Jeannine E. Mercure, objected to the GPS request, saying his life already has restrictions. He is a Department of Mental Health client who receives psychiatric and individual counseling, takes his required medications, and is visited by a nurse seven days a week to make sure he stays compliant.

In a statement after Tuttman’s decision, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. expressed disappointment, but said he continues to believe judges have the discretion to insist that GPS monitors be worn by sex offenders.

“GPS monitoring of convicted sex offenders is an important, preventative tool to monitor the whereabouts of defendants who have preyed on victims and demonstrated a likelihood of re-offending,’’ he said, adding that his office will continue to “argue for this monitoring for other sex offenders in the interest of public safety.’’

Sitting in court yesterday were Laurie Myers and Debbie Savoia, from a victims rights group called Community Voices. The group has closely tracked the Goodwin case and has monitored court rulings governing sexual offenders.

Myers said she feared Goodwin will reoffend if not properly monitored. She also lashed out at the SJC’’s decision.

“I think this an open invitation,’’ Myers said, “for pedophiles and sex offenders to come here and molest any kid they want.’’