KEY POINTS

  • A 51-year-old Massachusetts man pleaded guilty to raping his girlfriend's minor daughter
  • He was sentenced to 8 to 12 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised probation
  • The abuse was revealed after the victim's mother found the man molesting her daughter in her home

A man in Bristol County, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to a maximum of 12 years in prison after he was convicted last week of raping his girlfriend's young daughter.

Travis Taylor, 51, pleaded guilty before the Fall River Superior Court on June 17 to indictments charging him with rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a person under the age of 14, a report by the Fall River Reporter said.

The Freetown resident received a sentence of 8 to 12 years in state prison. He will serve 10 years of supervised probation after his release, local radio station WBSM reported, citing the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.

According to a report by state prosecutors, the victim's mother contacted the Freetown Police Department on Dec. 3, 2019, after she walked into her home and found Taylor sexually molesting her daughter.

After speaking with the victim, investigators learned that multiple sexual assaults had occurred, WLNE reported. Lab testing confirmed the victim's statements when Taylor's semen was found on her.

"The defendant took advantage of his access to the young child and sexually assaulted her. Fortunately. the victim's mother came home and caught the defendant in the act," District Attorney Thomas Quinn was quoted as saying by WBSM.

He added, "The conduct is reprehensible and a serious breach of trust. I commend the child for having the courage to come forward to tell her mother and investigators what happened to her. The sentence is well deserved."

A Berks County, Pennsylvania, man was arrested last month on similar charges after he was accused of sexually assaulting his girlfriend's 12-year-old daughter for nearly three years.

Manuel Molina-Nunez, 42, was arrested on May 6 and charged with rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.

County prosecutors alleged that Molina-Nunez had been sexually abusing his girlfriend's daughter since she was 9 in a home in Reading between January 2017 and October 2019.

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Representation. Pixabay