BOSTON, February 7, 2019 — As part of her commitment to empowering survivors, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins today announced that a former employee of a Department of Youth Services vendor has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting two young victims.

JAMES CHRISTIAN, 48, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to four counts of rape of a child in connection with sexual assaults more than a decade ago on two boys who are now adults. Judge Linda Giles sentenced Christian to four to six years in state prison followed by five years of probation. Assistant District Attorney Maryrose Anthes had recommended a term of eight to 10 years in state prison.

“This case involved the worst kind of betrayal – the abuse of a child by a person in a position of trust,” District Attorney Rollins said. “But it also showed us the courage of two men to defy the fear and shame that too many survivors may feel trapped by. They stepped forward to tell the truth, and their strength helped us hold their abuser accountable. I want them and survivors everywhere to know that my office is a safe, survivor-centered environment for anyone who wants to disclose abuse.”

Had the case proceeded to trial, Anthes would have presented evidence and testimony to prove that Christian worked at a facility contracted by DYS where one of the victims was a client between 1999 and 2001. The evidence would have proved that Christian drove the victim to Boston from a facility outside of Suffolk County on weekends and assaulted him during the trips. At the time of the abuse, the boy was between the ages of 13 and 16. The evidence would further have shown that Christian assaulted a boy who was known to him at a home in Suffolk County between 2001 and 2004 beginning when the victim was age 13.

“I felt ashamed and feared that everyone would know,” the latter survivor wrote in an impact statement to the court. “I also felt guilty for not coming forward earlier. Twelve years after the abuse ended, I’m still dealing with the consequences.”

“I was put at his DYS program at the age of thirteen where staff was supposed to help me. He used that position of trust to groom and eventually sexually assault me,” one victim told the court. “I ran away from DYS because I didn’t trust people. I still have trouble trusting people and every aspect of my life has been severely impacted by what he did.”

The victims, who were not known to one another, each disclosed the abuse as adults. A Suffolk County grand jury returned indictments against Christian in 2016.

The decision to report child sexual abuse is often one of the most difficult choices a person can make, District Attorney Rollins said. Whether a survivor makes a disclosure of abuse as a child or years later as an adult, Suffolk prosecutors, victim witness advocates, and our partners at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County pledge to meet each victim with compassion, confidentiality, and the services necessary to heal. For more information on available services or to learn the signs of child abuse and how you can help, visit https://www.suffolkcac.org/.

Kate Lagana was the DA’s assigned victim witness advocate.

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