BOSTON, Dec. 12, 2018—A Suffolk Superior Court jury today returned verdicts convicting four former youth workers on 19 indictments charging them with abusing the teenagers they were trusted to care for, District Attorney John P. Pappas said.
After a trial that began nearly a month ago, jurors found JALISE ANDRADE, 37, of Brockton; SILVIO DEPINA, 40, of Brockton; HERMANO JOSEPH, 28, of Taunton; and AINSLEY LaROCHE, 44, of Roxbury guilty of beating, sexually assaulting, and/or threatening four teenage males in ritualized punishments at the Casa Isla residential facility on Long Island between April and August of 2014. The defendants were employed by Volunteers of America, which had at that time contracted with the Department of Youth Services to provide residential treatment to juveniles in DYS custody.
“These verdicts reflect unconscionable behavior by adults who abused and violated the young people in their care,” Pappas said. “But the verdicts also reflect the courage of those young people, who stood up against threats and intimidation to disclose the abuse. And they reflect absolutely tireless work by prosecutors, victim advocates, and State troopers to build this case and ensure the victims’ voices were heard loud and clear.”
Jurors convicted Andrade of one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; Depina of two counts of indecent assault and battery, three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and one count each of witness intimidation and threats to commit a crime; Joseph of two counts of indecent assault and battery and one count each of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and threats to commit a crime; and LaRoche of three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of threats to commit a crime.
Prosecutors moved to revoke the defendants’ bails pending sentencing later this week. Judge Jeffrey Locke denied that motion.
Prior to trial, prosecutors withdrew single counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon against two additional defendants, JOSEPH CINTOLO, 29, and WILKENS JEANTY, 44, both of Quincy, after determining that they could not meet their burden of proof beyond reasonable doubt. At the close of evidence, the trial judge ruled that the evidence against EMMANUEL FEDNA, 34, of Everett did not support a conviction on similar charges. An eighth defendant, RAYMOND PIZARRO of Hyde Park, will be tried separately because of a death in his attorney’s family.
Assistant District Attorney Sarah Stancato McEvoy of the DA’s Child Protection Unit introduced evidence and testimony proving that the defendants repeatedly abused the victims at the Casa Isla facility on Long Island during a period between April and August 2014. The abuse included – but was not limited to – a punishment known as “orange chicken,” in which the defendants would pull the victim’s pants down and beat the victim with an orange sandal.
The evidence showed that victims were targeted for abuse because they violated rules, because they returned to the facility after being discharged, or on the eve of their discharge as a warning not to return. The victims were threatened with harm if they disclosed the abuse, and that they would face harm even if they were removed from Casa Isla because the defendants knew staffers at other programs.
Troopers assigned to the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit began their investigation after a referral by DYS and the Department of Children and Families. The investigation led to a lengthy grand jury probe and the defendants’ indictments in 2015. All Casa Isla residents were removed from the facility and the program was closed as the investigation got under way.
Kate Lagana was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. The defendants were represented by attorneys Patrick Noonan, Edward Krippendorf, Michael Tumposky, and Michael Doolin. They face sentencing at 2:30 on Friday afternoon in courtroom 806 of Suffolk Superior Court.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
