New Bedford Man Sentenced to 50 Years for ‘Depraved’ Crimes Against Two Young Girls

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — A New Bedford man has been sentenced to up to 50 years in prison for repeatedly raping his girlfriend’s two young daughters “several thousand times” over a period of many years.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced that Richard Cruz, 51, was convicted by a jury on June 11 in Fall River Superior Court on three counts of forcible rape of a child, two counts of aggravated rape of a child by age, and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

He was sentenced to serve a sentence of 40 to 50 years in state prison.

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Details of the Alleged Abuse and Timeline

The two female victims testified that Cruz repeatedly sexually molested and raped them. One victim said it happened countless times between the years of 2000 and 2008, when she was between seven and 14 years old, when her mother was at work and Cruz was watching her.

The second victim testified to numerous incidents of rape and sexual molestation by Cruz between 2015 and 2019, when she was between the ages of eight and 11. This also happened while her mother was at work and Cruz was watching her.

The victims recounted that Cruz would show them pornography and force them to perform sex acts on him.

District Attorney Thomas Quinn Reacts to Verdict

“The defendant molested the two young victims several thousand times, which is beyond comprehension. This conduct is depraved and extremely disturbing,” Quinn said. “I commend the victims for their courage and perseverance during the seven-plus-years that the case was pending. The defendant had seven different lawyers during the case, which is disgraceful. The lengthy sentence which was recommended by my office and imposed by the court was necessary and well deserved for this atrocious conduct.”