FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts man convicted last year of raping a preteen relative over a period of six years and threatening to kill her if she told anyone has been sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, prosecutors said.
Paul Fagundes, 43, of Fall River, was convicted after a weeklong trial last October on charges including rape of a child with force, and indecent assault and battery on a person under 14, Bristol District Attorney Thomas Quinn III said in statement Wednesday.
Sentencing was delayed until this week because of post-trial defense motions and the coronavirus pandemic.
Fagundes sexually abused the victim from 2006 until 2012, telling her he would kill her if she ever disclosed the abuse to anyone, prosecutors said.
The victim finally went to her mother in 2017.
“I am very pleased the jury convicted the defendant of deplorable acts of sexual abuse against a young child. He took advantage of his access to the child and committed acts of sexual abuse that became more violent over time,” Quinn said. “At trial, he claimed that the child lied. He deserved the lengthy sentence imposed by the court for this despicable conduct.”
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