Taunton Man Sentenced for Sexually Assaulting Autistic Woman

FALL RIVER — A Taunton man has been sentenced after he sexually assaulted an autistic woman.

Clifford Martin, 58, was convicted of three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person with an intellectual disability and one count of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years old after a five-day trial.

Martin was ordered to serve six to eight years in state prison with three years of probation upon his release.

On September 10, 2015, Martin, an employee of AMEGO, a facility providing supportive care to individuals with autism, was seen receiving a sex act in a van in the parking lot of an Attleboro Dollar Tree store.

The witness confronted Martin, who abruptly apologized and attempted to cover a patch that identified where he was employed. Martin drove away, but the witness was able to write down the van's license plate number and call police. The witness stated that she felt something was not right about the woman who was seen performing the sex act.

Police located the van in the AMEGO parking lot and went inside to speak with Martin.

Martin explained that he had taken the woman to the store and was inspecting a pimple on her head when the witness observed them. Though he denied having any sexual contact with the woman, he was heard saying, "I'm lucky if I see the light of day again."

During a later interview, the autistic woman told police that she had touched Martin's penis with lotion, and Martin had touched her vaginal area. She disclosed that she had seen Martin's penis on multiple occasions. She provided similar testimony during Martin's trial this week.

“The defendant took advantage of the victim’s cognitive disability and his position of employment at the facility the victim was staying at," said Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III. "The conduct of the defendant was manipulative and very offensive.  He deserves the sentence imposed by the court.”