In
Worcester court, former police officer from Lancaster admits to child rape
By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM
& GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER— A former police
officer was placed on probation with a suspended jail sentence Thursday after
pleading guilty to child rape and witness intimidation charges.
Timothy E. Monahan Sr., 64, of
1379 North Main St., Lancaster was sentenced to 5 years in the House of
Correction, suspended for ten years with probation, after pleading guilty in
Worcester Superior Court to child rape, two counts of unnatural child rape and
witness intimidation.
The charges related to several
sexual assaults
that occurred between Sept. 30,
1994, and March 19, 1996, beginning when the victim was about 12 years old,
according to court records. Assistant District Attorney Courtney L. Sans said
the rapes occurred in Mr. Monahan's home.
Mr. Monahan worked as a reserve
police officer in Lancaster in 1978 and was later a member of the Leominster
Police Department for several years. In response to questions posed by Judge
Janet Kenton-Walker, Mr. Monahan said his last job was as a self-employed home
repairman for about 20 years.
Mr. Monahan told the victim
that because of his age and his position in the community as a former police
officer, no one would believe her if she reported the assaults, according to
court documents. He also told her that he would be angry with her and would
stop buying her gifts if she told anyone, the records state.
The sentence imposed by Judge
Kenton-Walker was recommended by Ms. Sans and Mr. Monahan's lawyer, Michael G.
Cashman. Ms. Sans told the judge the victim was in agreement with the
recommendation. She said the victim, now 31, wanted the matter resolved and Mr.
Monahan to acknowledge his guilt.
"Because of his actions,
my innocence has been taken away," the victim said in an impact statement
read in court. She said she suffered "nightmares" as a result of the
assaults.
When asked by the judge if he
committed the acts outlined by the prosecutor, Mr. Monahan responded, "I
believe so."
Under further questioning by
the judge, Mr. Monahan said he was a heavy drinker at the time and had no
memory of the assaults.
"My family and her family
said I did it and I believe I did it," he said.
Mr. Monahan further
acknowledged that there was enough evidence for a trier of fact to find him
guilty of the charges.
Mr. Monahan, a Vietnam War
veteran, told the court he suffers from combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder
and has been prescribed medication for the condition. Mr. Cashman said his
client has also suffered two strokes in recent years. He said he believed the
strokes had contributed to Mr. Monahan's memory loss.
The defense lawyer said an
evaluation he had done of Mr. Monahan showed he was a "very low risk"
to commit another sex crime.
Mr. Monahan was indicted in
2012 after a state police investigation headed by Trooper Patrick McStay,
according to Ms. Sans. The prosecutor said Lancaster police conducted an
investigation in 1996, but that Mr. Monahan was not charged or prosecuted in
keeping with the wishes of the girl's family.
The victim came forward in 2011
and said she wanted to pursue the charges, according to Ms.Sans.
As conditions of probation, Mr.
Monahan was ordered to have no contact with the victim and no unsupervised
contact with anyone under age 16. He was further ordered to remain alcohol-free
with random testing, to register as a sex offender, to undergo sex offender
counseling and to submit to GPS monitoring.
