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Plymouth police officer, husband arrested amid allegations of sexual abuse
Officer Samantha Pelrine and her husband, Daniel Forand, were arrested at their home Thursday morning.
Authorities have charged a Plymouth police officer who was placed on leave last week amid allegations of sexual abuse, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
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Officer Samantha Pelrine and her husband, Daniel Forand, were arrested at their home Thursday morning, the DA’s office confirmed. Pelrine, 31, is facing three counts of aggravated child rape with force and one count of aggravated statutory child rape.
Forand, 37, faces a slew of charges, including six counts of indecent assault and battery on a person older than 14, eight counts of aggravated child rape with more than a 10-year age difference, and three counts of joint enterprise aggravated child rape with force. He is also charged with single counts of aggravated statutory child rape, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
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The pair pleaded not guilty to all charges Thursday, according to the Boston Herald. Information about the arraignments was not available in online court records; a representative from the Plymouth District Court clerk’s office said all case documents have been impounded, including bail orders.
According to the Herald, prosecutors accused the couple of “grooming” a boy in their custody and sexually abusing him from the time he was 14. However, attorneys for Pelrine and Forand raised concerns about the veracity of the allegations and suggested there’s plenty of evidence that appears to contradict them, the Herald reported.
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The couple’s defense attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
A judge set cash bail at $10,000 for Pelrine and $25,000 for Forand, with orders to surrender any firearms and have no contact with the alleged victim or any children under the age of 18, the DA’s office said. They were reportedly released on bail soon after their arraignments.
Pelrine was placed on paid administrative leave March 17 in light of a criminal investigation into her off-duty conduct, Plymouth police previously said. An abuse prevention order filed that same day in Plymouth District Court revealed that Pelrine and Forand were accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting someone over whom they had legal guardianship.
According to the filing, the alleged victim lived with his aunt and grandmother until he was 12 years old, at which point he moved in with Pelrine and Forand. The alleged sexual assaults began a short time after the couple became the child’s legal guardians, court records indicate.
“They are looking for me and I am scared for my safety,” the alleged victim wrote in an affidavit.
The DA’s office said the man, now an adult, reported the alleged abuse to State Police on March 15 and said he had been sexually assaulted, “first by Forand and then by Forand and Pelrine together” several times between 2018 and 2025.
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“We are appalled and deeply disturbed by the allegations,” the Plymouth Police Department said in a Thursday release. “We hold our officers to the highest of standards and expect them to uphold their sworn duty both on duty and off. … The conduct alleged is in violation of our values and of our basic principles as police officers, to serve and protect.”
The department said it also remains committed to a “timely and thorough internal investigation to find the facts, review available evidence, and take appropriate administrative action.”
Pelrine’s duty status is under review, according to the release. She and Forand are due back in court June 8.
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