Crime

Ex-Chelsea School Committee member pleads guilty to raping 12-year-old

Prosecutors said Henry Wilson also recorded some of the assault on a cell phone.

Henry D. Wilson pleaded guilty to raping a 12-year-old. Chelsea Public Schools

By Susannah Sudborough

1 minute to read

A former member of the Chelsea School Committee pleaded guilty to raping a 12-year-old Thursday in Suffolk County Superior Court.

Prosecutors said 57-year-old Henry Wilson picked the victim up in his car, assaulted him, and recorded some of the assault on a cell phone.

In a news release, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said that on June 28, 2021, the victim was walking near Broadway in Chelsea when Wilson offered him a ride in his car. Wilson then drove the victim to a parking lot where he assaulted him and recorded some of the assault.

Days later, the victim’s family was made aware of the assault and contacted Chelsea police, the DA’s Office said. Through their investigation, police identified Wilson as a suspect, and later interviewed and arrested him.

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“This case involves multiple levels of abuse, including Mr. Wilson abusing his status as an adult and his status as a person of authority, particularly a person of authority over school children,” District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in the release.

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“But more than anything else it involves the abuse of an innocent child, and Mr. Wilson now knows the consequences of such conduct. The courage of the victim and the victim’s family was crucial in moving this case forward.”

Wilson was part of the Chelsea School Committee from 2019 to 2021 when he was arrested for rape.

Wilson pleaded guilty to rape and abuse of a child, child enticement, and posing a child in sexual conduct. Judge Michael Ricciuti sentenced Wilson to five years in prison on the rape charge and five years of probation on the other two charges, the DA’s Office said.

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Ricciuti ordered Wilson to stay away from the victim and wear a GPS device with an exclusion zone around the victim’s home and school. Wilson is also prohibited from having unsupervised contact with children under 18 or having a job where he would work with children under 18.

Wilson must also now undergo sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender.

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