New Bedford Man Receives Max Sentence for Molesting Young Relative

NEW BEDFORD — A 42-year-old New Bedford man received the maximum allowable sentence for molesting a young relative after being convicted last week during a Jury of Six trial in New Bedford District Court, District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

David Maisonet was convicted of two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age. He received the maximum two-and-a-half-year House of Corrections sentence, and will also be placed on supervised probation for an additional seven years after his release from jail.

The defendant was accused of rubbing the victim’s vagina from outside her underwear on two occasions, once when the girl was seven, and once when the girl was 11.

The jury deliberated for just over an hour before returning its guilty verdicts. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Shawn Guilderson and the sentence was handed down by Judge Edward Lynch.

“This was an extremely difficult case to prosecute. The victim’s mother would not cooperate and had to be forced into court during pretrial hearings in the case, where she was scheduled to testify,” District Attorney Quinn said. “I am pleased with the jury’s verdict, holding the defendant accountable for sexually molesting a pre-teen girl. I commend the victim for being able to get through the trial process. It was most unpleasant for her.”

--Bristol County District Attorney's Office