Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Pawtucket man was sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve 25 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after pleading to sexually assaulting three female victims under the age of 14 between 2018 and 2021.
At a hearing on June 18, 2024, Christopher Suarez (age 38) entered a plea of nolo contendere to three counts of first-degree child molestation.
At the hearing, Superior Court Justice Linda Rekas Sloan sentenced the defendant to 50 years at the ACI with 25 years to serve and a 25-year suspended sentence and 50 years of probation. Judge Rekas Sloan also ordered that the defendant register as a sex offender, complete sex offender counseling, and be subject to community supervision, which requires lifetime GPS monitoring. Judge Rekas Sloan further issued No Contact Orders between the defendant and the victims.
“All too often our Office prosecutes instances where a ‘trusted’ adult sexually exploits a young child,” said Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. “Such criminal conduct, like that perpetrated by the defendant here, causes irreparable harm to victims and their families. I am grateful to the victims in this case for coming forward and seeking justice. I am also thankful to the Pawtucket Police Department for their partnership in this case, and so many others.”
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that between 2018 and 2021, the defendant sexually assaulted three female victims, who were under the age of 14 and known to him, at an apartment in Pawtucket.
“I would like to thank the Attorney General’s Office and our officers for their exemplary efforts on the successful prosecution of this predatory offender,” said Pawtucket Acting Public Safety Director and Police Chief Tina Goncalves. “These cases are never easy on the families that often bear through a years-long process, and it is the Pawtucket Police Department’s hope that this guilty verdict will help in the healing process.”
Special Assistant Attorney General Amanda Jacober of the Office of the Attorney General and Detective Douglas Harrington of the Pawtucket Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.
Original source can be found here.