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A 33-year-old New Bedford man will serve up to seven years in state prison after recently being convicted of pedophilic acts and the sexual assault of a middle schooler, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
Juan Riz was convicted by a jury of his peers after a five-day trial in Fall River Superior Court earlier this month of indictments charging him with Indecent Assault and Battery on a Person Under 14, Attempted Indecent Assault and Battery on a Person Under 14, Enticing a Minor, Lewd and Lascivious Acts and Perjury.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Thomspon and the five to seven year state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Renee Dupuis.
On May 31, 2017, the young victim was walking home from school when the defendant drove up along side her and asked her if she wanted a ride home since it was heavily raining outside. The defendant was known to the victim and she accepted the ride. As soon as she got into the truck, the defendant drove a short way, then pulled over. He proceeded to begin masturbating in front of the victim, attempted to force her hand onto his penis and grabbed her chest over her clothes. He also attempted to remove her sweatshirt, at which point the victim broke free, exited the truck and ran for help.
“The defendant engaged in perverted and very offensive criminal conduct against the victim, who was just trying to get home from school. He was on probation when he committed these crimes and is a clearly a danger to the community,” District Attorney Quinn said.
The defendant was on probation at the time of the incident for an assault and battery with a dangerous weapon conviction. During a probation violation hearing triggered by the 2017 arrest, the defendant perjured himself during sworn testimony. He testified under oath that the victim never got in his truck and that he only asked her if she had seen his girlfriend’s daughter. The perjury was proven after recorded jail phone conversations revealed the defendant told his girlfriend that he did pick the victim up and that she did enter his truck.
In addition to the state prison sentence, the judge also imposed an additional five year supervised probationary term.
