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“Two New Bedford men were convicted last Friday afternoon by a jury of their peers after a week-long trial in Fall River Superior Court of raping and molesting a 9-year-old girl in their Nye Street apartment, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
Nicholas Pacheco, 41, was convicted by the jury of two counts of Aggravated Rape and Abuse of a Child with at Least a Five Year Age Difference. Pacheco’s housemate, Braulio Castro, 37, was convicted by the jury of Forcible Rape of a Child.
Both defendants were ordered held in jail throughout the holiday weekend and were sentenced on Tuesday by Judge Thomas McGuire. Pacheco was sentenced to serve 10 to 15 years in state prison, while Castro was sentenced to serve eight to 12 years in prison. Both men are not citizens of the United States and will likely be deported upon completion of their state prison sentences.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Caleb Weiner.
During the trial, evidence showed that the girl, who is now a teenager, was raped twice by Pacheco, who she considered to be her father, and once by Castro. All three incidents occurred when the girl was 9 and 10 years old between February of 2015 and February of 2017.
The young victim testified during the trial about each instance of rape and told the jury she delayed disclosure of the rapes and molestations because she truly believed as a young child that she was just a toy and was supposed to be used for sex in this way. Sadly, the young victim had also been molested by two other men during her childhood.
It was the final abuse in 2021 by a New Bedford man named Mario Suy that finally compelled the victim to tell forensic investigators from the Bristol County Children’s Advocacy Center about all the abuse she had suffered. Mr. Suy, who is now 27-years-old, was convicted after a trial last April in New Bedford District Court of two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14 and was sentenced to the county jail in addition to a lengthy probation stint.
The first individual alleged to have sexually assaulted the child was her great-uncle, Mario Diaz, who was indicted for rape of a child by a grand jury, but was deported prior to a trial. The girl was seven-years-old when the first sexual abuse occurred.
“Sadly both defendants took advantage of their access to this young victim and sexually assaulted her. I want to thank the jury for holding both defendants accountable for this despicable conduct,” District Attorney Quinn said. “I commend the victim’s courage and fortitude in coming forward and persevering through these very difficult circumstances. I hope she can move forward with her life. The state prison sentences imposed by the court were appropriate.”-Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III’s Office.
