Marblehead man pleads guilty to child rape and pornography charges
The defendant allegedly possessed hundreds of pornographic images of children, and circulated pictures of himself sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl.
A Marblehead man pleaded guilty Wednesday to child rape and pornography charges, the Essex District Attorney’s office said in a statement.Raymond DePaula, 43, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of aggravated rape of a child, posing a child in a state of nudity, dissemination of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and improper storage of firearms.DePaula was sentenced to 20 to 25 years in state prison followed by 10 years of probation during which he must undergo sex offender treatment, submit to GPS monitoring, and have no unsupervised contact with children under 16, according to the DA’s office.After the Department of Homeland security received information that DePaula possessed child pornography, an investigation was launched in August 2012 that resulted in authorities discovering hundreds of the images, the DA’s office said.DePaula admitted to possessing child pornography and showed police improperly stored firearms when speaking to authorities at his home, according to the DA’s office. The investigation later revealed the defendant had uploaded pictures of himself sexually assaulting and posing an 8-year-old girl, authorities said.The child, now 15 years old, came forward and described how DePaula sexually assaulted her repeatedly when she was between 8 and 12 years old, the DA’s office said.“This case is a stark reminder that child pornography is never just a computer crime. Each image depicts a child, like the young woman here, being sexually violated and abused, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said in a statement. “In this case, the hard work of Department of Homeland Security agents and Marblehead Police rescued one child from further abuse and put her on the path to recovery.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com