BOSTON, April 23, 2018— A Chelsea man was sentenced to a decade in prison today after his conviction for sexually assaulting a young child, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

A Suffolk Superior Court jury on Thursday found ALVARO CALDERON, 33, of Chelsea guilty of aggravated rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. At his sentencing today, Judge Janet Sanders imposed a term of 10 years in state prison. Upon his release, Calderon will serve an additional two years of probation, during which time he must register as a sex offender, complete sex offender treatment, have no direct or indirect contact with the victim, have no unsupervised contact with any child under 16, and wear a GPS monitor. Assistant District Attorney Audrey Mark, Chief of Conley’s Child Protection Unit, had additionally requested that Calderon be ordered not to hold any employment or volunteer position that would put him in contact with children; however, Sanders declined to impose the requested condition.

During the course of a three day trial, Mark presented evidence and testimony to prove that Calderon sexually assaulted a young child who was known to him. The abuse occurred at the victim’s home between May 2014 and July 2016 – beginning when the victim was 6 years old and ending when she disclosed the abuse to a family member at age 8. Following that disclosure, the victim took part in a forensic interview with practitioners at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County, the “hub” that surrounds young survivors of physical and sexual abuse and connects them with “spokes” such as law enforcement, social services, clinical care, and family support systems.

Based on information gathered during that interview and additional investigation by Chelsea Police, Calderon was indicted in October 2016.

“Disclosing abuse is often the most difficult thing a child will ever do,” Conley said. “It’s important for parents and caretakers to let kids know that they can talk to you about anything – especially things that make them feel unsafe or uncomfortable.”

Sarah MacIsaac was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Calderon was represented by Jeffrey Miller.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.