How Could You? Hall of Shame-Kazakhstan Adoptive Parents Joseph and Linda Mayotte UPDATED
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Whitinsville, Massachusetts, a 2009 sex abuse case of Kazakh adoptees has finally reached the trial phase. Linda became pregnant with her 13-year-old adopted son’s child. DNA tests confirmed it.
2009
“A 45-year-old Whitinsville woman was arraigned yesterday on four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and six counts of statutory rape of a child
The boy was 13 years old when the rapes allegedly occurred in 2005.
Police arrested Linda M. Mayotte… Tuesday afternoon on a warrant issued by Uxbridge District Court after a two-week investigation.
She was arrested at her house and was charged in court yesterday with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct for her behavior during the arrest.
At the brief morning arraignment before Judge Paul A. Losapio in Uxbridge District Court, Assistant District Attorney Robert Pellegrini said the boy was well-known to the defendant and that “various sexual acts” took place between Feb. 1 and June 1, 2005.
Three children have been living at Ms. Mayotte’s home, a 16-month-old and two teenagers. The state Department of Children and Families has taken custody of the children, according to authorities. It appears the alleged victim lived in her home, according to authorities who spoke in court.
Ms. Mayotte, who appeared in court with a bandage on her head, pleaded not guilty. Mr. Pellegrini said she may have tried to harm herself at the time of the arrest.
Lawyer Betsy J. Choate of Douglas represented Ms. Mayotte. She said the boy did not tell police about the matter until recently, when he was being questioned about a theft.
Ms. Mayotte has a bachelor’s degree in theology and is a part-time Avon sales representative, according to Ms. Choate. [Be sure to click on this article to see what Linda looks like. Insert your own joke here.]
Ms. Choate said a gun was allegedly involved in some way during the arrest, but no further details were provided in court.
“She feels she’s suicidal,” Ms. Choate said. “She has expressed that she does want to go a hospital and get some help.”
Judge Losapio set bail at $2,500, and ordered the defendant to have no contact with the boy.
Ms. Mayotte’s husband, Joseph Mayotte, was scrambling to post the cash bail after the court proceedings. If Ms. Mayotte does post bail, Judge Losapio said she must wear a GPS device.
Mr. Mayotte told a reporter to “get lost” when asked to comment. Ms. Choate also refused to comment.
Woman accused of rape of child
[Worscester Telegram and Gazette 7/18/09]
“A Whitinsville man was arrested yesterday on a charge of raping a child, police said, two days after his wife was arrested on the same charge.
Joseph Mayotte, 46,… was arrested at 1:47 p.m. and charged with indecent assault and battery of a child under 14 and statutory rape of a child, police said.
Police Chief Walter Warchol said the arrest came after a two-week investigation.
Mayotte is scheduled to be arraigned today in Uxbridge District Court.
His wife, Linda M. Mayotte… was arrested Tuesday and charged with six counts of statutory child rape and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, police said.
Prosecutors said the victim was a boy she knew. Prosecutors say the alleged rapes occurred between Feb. 1 and June 1, 2005.
Linda Mayotte’s defense lawyer said the boy only recently reported the alleged incidents to police while being questioned about a theft.
Linda Mayotte pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Uxbridge District Court.
She was held on $2,500 bail, and ordered to wear a monitoring device if she posts bail.
Three children living in Mayotte’s home were reportedly taken into state custody.”
Husband of recently charged woman also charged with child rape
[The Milford Daily News 6/18/09 by Krista Perry]
2010
“Last June, a Whitinsville couple were arrested for having sex with their adopted children, and last week they were indicted on those charges.
Joseph Mayotte, 47…was charged with four counts of unnatural rape of a child, eight counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, five counts of indecent assault and battery, rape aggravated by age difference, assault with intent to rape, reckless endangerment of a child, dissemination of matter harmful to minors, morals offense, conspiracy, failure to secure a firearm and intimidation.
His wife Linda Mayotte, 46, was indicted on four counts of unnatural rape of a child, eight counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, five counts of indecent assault and battery and single counts of rape of a child, assault with intent to rape, rape aggravated by age difference, reckless endangerment of a child, conspiracy, morals offense, intimidation of a witness, possession of a firearm without a firearms license, and resisting arrest.
Northbridge Police Chief Walter Warchol said it is normal to have such a long time span between arrest and indictment. He also said there is no trial date set yet for the couple.
Linda Mayotte is accused of raping her adopted son starting in 2005 when he was 12, and continued until 2007 when she became pregnant, supposedly with his child. Joseph Mayotte is accused of raping his adopted daughter, who is four years younger than her brother, from 2004 to June of 2007.
Police reports indicated the boy told police about the rapes after police came to the house to question Linda about items she claimed were stolen from her home.”
Whitinsville couple indicted on rape charges
[Northbridge Daily Voice 3/3/10]
2013
July 24, 2013 Jury Selection Begins
“Only three jurors, of 16, were selected on Tuesday at Worcester Superior Court, according to a spokesman for the Worcester District Attorney’s office. He said he expected the trial to take weeks.”
Jury begins in Northbridge couple accused of child rape
[The Milford Daily News 7/24/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
“The husband and wife pair each face 26 counts including five counts of statutory rape of a child, one count of aggravated rape of a child, eight counts of indecent assault on a child under 14 and one count of incest, among others.
Jury selection began on Tuesday and it took three days to choose the 15 jurors, who will hear the case that will be presided over by Worcester Superior Court Judge Richard Tucker.
Both pleaded not guilty to all counts following their indictment in March 2010.
They were released then on $25,000 cash bail, but are required to wear GPS monitoring devices.
Three children living in the Mayotte’s home were reportedly taken into state custody at the time of their arrest.
Trial opens Monday for Northbridge couple accused of child rape
[The Milford Daily News 7/29/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
July 30, 2013 Opening Statements
“Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle talked in her opening statement of the nightmare of the two victims, who were 8 and 13 when they allegedly began being abused by their adopted parents.
The children were adopted by the Mayottes from an orphanage in Kazakhstan and came to live in Whitinsville in August 2004, Riddle said.
“They ended up going from one nightmare into another,” Riddle said. “They were foreign children, in an unfamiliar country with an unfamiliar language who were completely dependent on the defendants. Within a couple of months, the husband was sleeping in bed with (the girl) while the wife was with (the boy) sexually.”
In 2007, Riddle said the girl told a neighbor about the abuse, but was too intimidated by Linda Mayotte to tell police and social workers about it when they responded to the report.
“She was a puppet master pulling all the strings,” said Riddle of Linda Mayotte.
Riddle told jurors that her case relies largely on the testimony of witnesses rather than physical evidence, since the abuse took place behind closed doors and without witnesses.
Both sides, however, agreed that Linda Mayotte’s third child is evidence of a sex act since the child’s father is her adopted son.
Defense attorney Laurel Singer, representing Linda Mayotte, argued in her opening statement that her client was actually the victim in this case.
“Linda Mayotte is not a rapist,” Singer said, arguing she was instead used as a “sex pawn,” by her adopted son. “Linda Mayotte was raped over and over and over again for years. This case is all about power.”
Singer argued the teenage boy who came to live with the Mayottes was used to having power, having had to survive on his own on the streets in his home country.
“He raped her for four years,” Singer said. “He punched her, yelled at her and threatened to go to the police and accuse her of rape. … I suggest to you he fulfilled that promise.”
Singer argued that the alleged male victim is lying about the abuse to not only avoid charges for stealing jewelry from Linda Mayotte, but also to cover up his rape of his adoptive mother.
The attorney for Joseph Mayotte, Christopher LoConto, said his client was facing a totally different nightmare – one of the wrongfully accused.
“This is the American dream, turned into an American nightmare,” LoConto said.
LoConto said Joseph Mayotte had no idea what was going on in his home between his wife and his adopted son and that he was falsely accused of abusing his adopted daughter.
LoConto said the only reason his client and the girl ever shared a bed is because the young girl was afraid at night.
“It was just a way to comfort a child in a whole new world,” LoConto said.
The allegedl male victim was the first witness called to testify Monday afternoon. His testimony will resume today.”
Trial underway of Northbridge couple charged with child rape
[The Milford Daily News 7/30/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
July 31, 2013 Kazakh adopted son testimony
“The 21-year-old alleged victim of Linda Mayotte, who is on trial with her husband as the couple stands accused of raping their two adopted children, outlined two years of sexual abuse that he said began when he was 13.
Linda Mayotte’s alleged victim told jurors Monday afternoon that she began getting in bed with him in January 2005 to give him massages to help ease pain he had from a gallbladder condition.
He said she started giving him “baby kisses” on the mouth that soon turned into “sexual kisses.”
He testified it only took a couple of weeks to escalate from kisses to oral sex and sexual intercourse.
“It was awkward, I didn’t know what to think or do,” said the alleged victim, who also said he thought it might be normal.
When his testimony resumed Tuesday, the alleged victim said he didn’t report any abuse earlier because he was afraid of being separated from his sister and his son and being sent back to an orphanage in Kazakhstan, where the Mayottes adopted the two.
He told his then-girlfriend on June 4, 2009 about the abuse after his mother accused him of stealing jewelry.
Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle submitted text messages from June 4 and 5, 2009 between Linda Mayotte and the alleged victim regarding the stolen jewelry.
Texts from Linda Mayotte show her threatening to go to the police about the jewelry.
“’Are you kidding me? I’m done with this (expletive), I don’t case what you do, just remember what I know. You know what you did to me,’” the alleged victim read to the jury from his own text messages.
Laurel Singer, the defense attorney for Linda Mayotte, submitted evidence attempting to show that the 13-year-old boy was actually the aggressor in the house, by showing his physical gains over his adopted mother and his acts of aggression.
Singer submitted Mayotte family photos, showing the victim as taller than Linda Mayotte and showing several holes he punched in his bedroom wall.
She also repeatedly questioned the alleged victim on why he didn’t report the abuse during one of many opportunities she said existed with social workers, police, teachers and friends.
Both the prosecution and the defense agreed that DNA testing confirmed that the alleged victim is actually the father of Linda Mayotte’s third child.
The prosecution also entered into evidence and played for the jury an hour-long interview between Linda Mayotte and Northbridge Police Lt. Timothy Labrie after she was arrested on June 16, 2009 where she alleges her adopted son raped her.
On the video, Linda Mayotte said she was never “the initiator,” but said she did “submit” to her adopted son. She said she was too afraid to come forward earlier because her adopted son had threatened to go to the police and accuse her of rape if she did.”
Alleged victim outlines abuse at Northbridge rape trial
[The Milford Daily News 7/31/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
American couple accused of raping children adopted from Kazakhstan
[Tengri News 7/31/13]
August 1, 2013 Kazakh Adopted Daughter Testimony
“The now 17-year-old alleged victim of Joseph Mayotte, who is on trial along with his wife as the couple stands accused of raping its two adopted children, said it took her so long to tell the truth about the abuse because she was afraid of losing her family.
The alleged victim told the jury during questioning on Wednesday that she was sexually abused for nearly five years, starting when she was 8 years old, after the Mayottes adopted her and her brother from Kazakhstan in 2004.
Earlier in the trial, her brother testified that Linda Mayotte sexually abused him from 2005 to 2007 and that the abuse only stopped when she became pregnant with his child. He told police about the abuse in 2009 after his adopted mother went to police when he stole jewelry from her.
The alleged victim said she began sharing a bed with Joseph Mayotte about a month after arriving in the United States because “they told me the house was haunted and I was scared.” She testified that Linda Mayotte wouldn’t sleep in the bed.
After a couple of months, the alleged victim said her adopted father began touching her inappropriately.
“I was confused, shocked, I didn’t know how to react,” the girl said.
She testified that the first time she tried to tell anybody about the abuse was in 2007, when she told two neighborhood girls. She later denied the allegations when police and social workers arrived at the Mayotte home.
Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle questioned the alleged victim as to why she lied about the abuse to police and social workers for so many years.
“I never had a father figure before. I finally did and didn’t want to lose that,” the girl said. She also said she didn’t want to be separated from her brothers. “I finally had a family. I didn’t want that to break apart.”
She also said Linda Mayotte’s reaction to hearing about the abuse, which she said included anger and denial, scared her.
“I felt like her reaction was my fault, like I was doing something wrong,” the alleged victim said. “I felt like no one was going to believe me.
When she tried to tell people about the abuse again in 2009, before her brother told police about his own abuse, she said Linda Mayotte repeatedly told her not to tell the police and that they could “solve it as a family.”
Another alleged victim testifies in Northbridge rape trial
[The Milford Daily News 8/1/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
“Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry filed an inquiry to the U.S. over the alleged sexual abuse of children adopted from Kazakhstan by their American parents, the Ministry’s press-secretary Nurzhan Aitmakhanov told Tengrinews.kz.
“We have studied the information about the American couple accused of raping the two children they adopted from Kazakhstan. In this relation, the Foreign Ministry has sent a request to Kazakhstan embassy in the U.S. to inquire into details of this case,” Aitmakhanov said on the phone.
The Ministry will provide more details to the media upon receipt of the information, he added. “We expect to receive some detailed information,” he said.
Earlier Tengrinews.kz English reported that Linda Mayotte, 49, and her husband Joseph Mayotte, 50, are on trial on 26 charges each, including statutory rape of a child, indecent assault, battery on a child under 14 and incest, among others. After the couple was initially charged with the crimes in 2009 Linda Mayotte was held on $2.5 thousand bail and obliged to wear a monitoring device. The children were taken into the state custody.
The 21-y.o. alleged victim of the sexual abuse testified against his American adoptive parents. The victim confessed that his 49-y.o. adopting mother Linda Mayotte began getting in bed with him since he was 13 and he did not talk about such behavior of his mother because he got used to it and considered it normal. The adopted daughter was sexually abused by the adopting father.”
Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry requests additional information on adopted chilren’s abuse case
[Tengri News 8/1/13 by Roza Yessenkulova ]
“Formed orphans from Kazakhstan who are now testifying in the U.S. against their adoptive parents came from Kazakhstan’s northern city of Petropavlosk. Petropavlovsk court i issued their adoption order in 2004, Tengrinews.kz reports citing deputy chairman of the Children Protection Commission of Kazakhstan Ministry of Education and Science Bakhyt Alibayeva.
A U.S. court is now hearing the case of the Kazakhstan-born children who were allegedly raped by their American adoptive parents for several years.
The children are brother and sister. “Based on the application of the American citizens, they left for the U.S. in August 2004 and no information about these shocking facts emerged until now,” Alibayeva said.
A request has been sent to Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry to look into the situation. Besides, the Ministry has sent a letter to the Kazakhstan Embassy in the U.S. with a request to obtain more information about the trial.”
Kazakhstan children allegedly raped in U.S. are from Petropavlovsk
[Tengri News 8/1/13 by Assemgul Kassenova ]
“Defense attorney’s questioned the alleged victim of Joseph Mayotte, who is on trial along with his wife as the couple is accused of raping its two adopted children, on inconsistencies in her reports to the police.
Mayotte, 50, and his wife Linda Mayotte, 49, both of 67 Laura Lane, Whitinsville, are on trial in Worcester Superior Court this week on 26 charges each, including multiple counts of statutory rape of a child, rape of a child aggravated by age, indecent assault on a child and incest, among others.
The alleged 17-year-old victim resumed testifying in Worcester Superior Court on Thursday, facing questions from defense attorneys for both of the Mayottes, after telling jurors Wednesday that she was sexually abused for nearly five years, starting when she was 8 years old, after the Mayottes adopted her and her brother from Kazakhstan in 2004.
Earlier in the trial, her brother testified that Linda Mayotte sexually abused him from 2005 to 2007 and that the abuse only stopped when she became pregnant with his child. He told police about the abuse in 2009 after his adopted mother went to police when he stole jewelry from her.
She first reported the abuse in 2007 to a neighbor, but later took back her statements when talking the police and social workers.
Christopher LoConto, Joseph Mayotte’s defense attorney, questioned the second disclosure in 2009, pointing out that she initially told her brother’s girlfriend and didn’t go the police until after her brother went to the police.
“Yesterday you testified that the abuse ‘seemed like it was every night,’” LoConto said. “Do you remember telling police in June 2009 it was ‘periodically when Linda would be out of the house?’”
LoConto also asked if the alleged victim’s brother was trying to “talk her into something.”
“My brother would never talk me into anything,” she testified.
Laurel Singer, the defense attorney for Linda Mayotte, repeatedly asked if it was Linda Mayotte who brought her to the police and counseling following both disclosures, to which the victim replied yes. Singer also noted Linda Mayotte got a restraining order against her husband following the 2007 allegations.
“In reality, didn’t Linda Mayotte say ‘all she wanted as the truth?’” Singer said. Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle objected to the question and the judge sustained, withdrawing the question.
Singer also pointedly asked the alleged victim: “do you consider yourself to be a good actress?’”
Riddle argued that when the alleged victim first went to the police in 2009, prior to her brother reporting his abuse, she didn’t deny her previous allegations, but just said she didn’t want to make a statement.
The assistant district attorney also asked the 17-year-old how she felt taking the stand and seeing the Mayottes for the first time since being removed from their home in 2009.
“I was nervous, it was overwhelming,” the alleged victim said.
The prosecution also called to the stand on Thursday the first people the alleged victims reported the abuse to, including a neighbor of the Mayottes and the male victim’s ex-girlfriend.”
Defense challenges alleged victim’s story in Northbridge rape trial
[The Milford Daily News 8/2/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
“Called as a prosecution witness at Joseph and Linda Mayotte’s trial on child sexual assault charges, the 16-year-old said she and the girl became best friends after the girl moved into the Mayottes’ house at 67 Laura Lane, Northbridge, in 2004.
On the night of June 15, 2007, she told the Worcester Superior Court jury, she was with her older sister and the 10-year-old girl when the girl related that Mr. Mayotte “had been touching her in inappropriate areas.”
She said the alleged victim appeared frightened and unsure of what to do.
“We told her that she needed to tell somebody,” the teen testified. She said the girl responded that she had already told Mrs. Mayotte, but that she had not believed her.
According to earlier testimony in the case, the sisters told their mother what the girl reported to them and the mother notified authorities. When police and social workers from the state Department of Children and Families went to the Mayottes’ home, the girl said the allegations were untrue.
Charges were lodged against Mr. Mayotte in 2009, after the girl again accused him of sexually assaulting her.
Under cross-examination by Mr. Mayotte’s lawyer, Christopher P. LoConto, the 16-year-old acknowledged that she had been to the Mayottes’ home many times and had never seen any inappropriate activity between Mr. Mayotte and the girl.
When she asked the girl about the sexual assault allegations on at least one occasion after June 15, 2007, the girl told her, “It’s not happening,” she said in response to Mr. LoConto’s questions.
Judge Richard T. Tucker instructed the jurors that the teen’s so-called “first complaint” testimony could be used by them solely for the purpose of assessing the credibility of the complaining witness.
Mr. Mayotte, 50, and Mrs. Mayotte, 49, have pleaded not guilty to charges that include child rape, child rape aggravated by age difference, indecent assault and battery on a child, indecent assault and battery and assault with intent to rape. The allegations against them involve two children who were once in their care.
Mr. Mayotte is alleged to have sexually abused the girl over a span of nearly five years beginning in 2004, when she was 8 years old.
In his opening statement in the case, Mr. LoConto said Mr. Mayotte would testify that the sexual abuse never occurred.
Mrs. Mayotte stands accused of having a two-year sexual relationship with a teenage boy who fathered a child with her. She told investigators after her arrest that she was raped by the teen.
The former girlfriend of Mrs. Mayotte’s alleged victim testified Thursday that he told her on June 4, 2009, that Mrs. Mayotte had ” ‘taught him how to have sex’ ” and that he was the father of the baby boy Mrs. Mayotte had given birth to in January 2008.
The now 21-year-old woman said she advised her then-boyfriend that he had to report the sexual abuse allegations to authorities.”
Friedn Testifies she told Northbridge couple’s accuser to report abuse
[Worcester Telegram & Gazette 8/2/13 by Gary V. Murray]
August 2 Testimony
” The jury in the trial of a Northbridge couple accused of sexually abusing two children in their care was told Friday about an early morning visit police and child welfare workers made to their home in 2007.
Robin Marin, then working as a state Department of Children and Families investigator, testified in Worcester Superior Court that she, a co-worker and a police officer went to Joseph and Linda Mayotte’s residence at 67 Laura Lane, Northbridge, sometime between 1 and 2 a.m. June 16, 2007, to investigate an allegation that Mr. Mayotte had been inappropriately touching a 10-year-old girl.
Authorities were notified after two friends of the girl said she told them she had been sexually abused by Mr. Mayotte.
Under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Cheryl R. Riddle, Ms. Marin said Mrs. Mayotte allowed her and the other investigators into the home and was told they were there because of concerns that her husband had been touching the young girl inappropriately.
She said Mrs. Mayotte responded “that there was no way that was true, that he was a decent, upstanding man,”
When asked where her husband was, Mrs., Mayotte said he was probably in his bedroom and that the 10-year-old girl was likely with him, according to Ms. Marin. Mrs. Mayotte was asked why the child would be sleeping with Mr. Mayotte and explained that she was often frightened by noises in her room at night and went into her husband’s room to be comforted, according to Ms. Marin.
She said Mrs. Mayotte later told her that she had been sleeping in the girl’s bedroom when the investigators arrived because the child was in her bed with Mr. Mayotte.
Mrs. Mayotte disclosed that she was six weeks pregnant at the time and said her husband and the teenage boy living with them were aware of the pregnancy, according to Ms. Marin. The DCF worker said Mrs. Mayotte related that she told the boy about the pregnancy “because she felt that he needed to know the consequences of having a sexual relationship,”
She also said the 10-year-old girl had not been informed of the pregnancy because she “was too young to know,” according to Ms. Marin.
There was a stipulation read to the jury earlier in the trial that Mrs. Mayotte’s alleged victim was the father of the baby boy she gave birth to in January of 2008. Mrs. Mayotte told police after her 2009 arrest that she had been raped by the boy.
Ms. Marin testified that Mrs. Mayotte went into the bedroom to get her husband at the investigators’ request and could be heard in the bathroom crying and vomiting while Mr. Mayotte was being questioned.
She testified that Mr. Mayotte also said the girl often came into his bedroom at night because she was afraid to sleep alone.
When the 10-year-old was being questioned in the kitchen, Mrs. Mayotte was in the living room with her husband telling him that she did not believe the allegations, but that he was going to have to leave the home temporarily at the investigators insistence, according to Ms. Marin.
She said the 10-year-old, who appeared “very nervous and shaken” not only denied having been sexually abused by Mr. Mayotte, but denied telling her friends she had.
Mr. Mayotte agreed to leave the home pending the investigation and Mrs. Mayotte agreed to get a restraining order against him after being told DCF would otherwise have to take temporary custody of the children, according to Ms. Marin. She said she overheard Mrs. Mayotte telling her husband, ” ‘I know you would never do this to her.’ ”
The teenage boy was also questioned at that time, Ms. Marin said.
The DCF worker, now a supervisor in the agency’s Springfield office, said she visited the Mayotte home again on June 5, 2009, after the teenage boy in the couple’s care reported to authorities that Mrs. Mayotte had sexually abused him.
“She said that it wasn’t true” and that the boy was falsely accusing her “because he was in trouble and angry,” according to Ms. Marin. Mrs. Mayotte was arrested as a result of the allegations.
Mr. Mayotte was also charged in 2009 after the girl told authorities she had been sexually assaulted by him.
Under cross-examination by Mr. Mayotte’s lawyer, Christopher P. LoConto, Ms. Marin said Mr. Mayotte denied the sexual assault allegations in 2007 and responded to the charges by saying, “For God’s sake, she’s 10 years old.”
Responding to questions posed by James J. Kaeding, one of Mrs. Mayotte’s lawyers, Ms. Marin said the teenage boy denied being a victim of sexual abuse when questioned in 2007.
Under redirect examination by Ms. Riddle, Ms. Marin said Mrs. Mayotte never told her she had been raped by the boy.”
DCF investigator testifies about mid-night visit to Northbridge home of Mayottes
[Worcester Telegram & Gazette 8/2/13 by Gary V. Murray]
REFORM Puzzle Pieces
Update: “Joseph Mayotte, on the stand in his own defense Monday, told a jury he never sexually abused his adopted daughter.
Mayotte, 50… is on trial in Worcester Superior Court along with his wife, Linda Mayotte, 49, of the same address, as the couple is accused of raping their adopted son and daughter. Whitinsville is a section of Northbridge.
Each faces 26 charges, including multiple counts of statutory rape of a child, rape of a child aggravated by age, indecent assault on a child and incest, among others.
Earlier in the trial, the Mayotte’s adopted children took the stand. The daughter accused Joseph Mayotte of sexually abusing her for nearly five years starting when she was 8 years old. The son accused Linda Mayotte of abusing him for two years, starting when he was 13.
Joseph Mayotte testified that his daughter did often share his bed for two years after they adopted the children from Kazakhstan in 2004 because she would get afraid at night.
“Never, never,” Joseph Mayotte said when his attorney, Christopher LoConto, asked if he’d ever touched his daughter.
Mayotte said his daughter stopped sleeping in his bed after initial allegations were made against him in 2007, when the girl’s friends reported to police that she’d said she was abused.
At the time, Mayotte testified he was shocked by the allegations.
“I said, ‘for god sakes, no, she’s only 10 years old,’ ” Mayotte said.
He said her friends were upset earlier in the night because of his daughter’s curfew. LoConto has previously argued that the neighbor girls made up the allegations against his client.
Mayotte also testified he knew nothing about what happened between his wife and his adopted son until after the boy reported being abused in 2009 and the children were removed from the home.
At that time, Linda Mayotte told him that their third child might not be his. Earlier in the trial, both sides stipulated that her adopted son is the father of the third child.
“She told me that when I wasn’t home, (the boy) was raping her,” Mayotte said. “I loved my wife, I believed her.”
Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle questioned Mayotte, saying his testimony is inconsistent with statements he and his wife previously made to police and social workers on several points such as about what his work hours were and whether he would wake or not when his daughter came into the bed.
“You have a memory of all these things, but when it comes to your statements for (the Department of Children and Families) you have no recollection?” Riddle asked.
Linda Mayotte also began her testimony later on Monday afternoon. She is expected to resume testifying Tuesday morning.”
Northbridge father says he never raped adopted daughter
[The Milford Daily News 8/6/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
“Kazakhstan Senate deputy Gani Kassymov has suggested to return all the children adopted by foreign citizens back to Kazakhstan, STV channel reports.
According to the senator, the country is capable of creating normal conditions for its orphans. He also reminded that her colleagues called to ban adoption of Kazakhstan children by foreign citizens altogether.
“We have seen several cases when children from CIS (Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine) were adopted by American citizens and later reported dead. Some use the adopted children for organs, some kids are left without proper care and some just run away. This should be considered a treachery,” Kassymov said.
All the cases of inappropriate behavior of the adoptive parents should be studies and we should do everything to get the Kazakhstan children back to their home country, he continued.
“Children don’t understand what’s going on with them, but what we do is we just give them away. What? We are a rich country fueled by oil dollars. Can’t we provide for 10 thousand little citizens of ours, threat them with care and provide state support? This is disgraceful,” Kassymov said.
According to Kazakhstan Education Ministry, foreigners have adopted around 9 thousand children in Kazakhstan over the past 14 years.
Earlier Tengrinews.kz English reported that an American couple is accused in the U.S. of raping two children adopted from Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan Foreign Ministry filed an inquiry to the U.S. asking to provide details of the case. ”
MP suggests returning adopted children back to Kazakhstan
[Tengri News 8/5/13]
Update 2/August 8, 2013
“Linda Mayotte had tears in her eyes as she told a jury on Tuesday that she was repeatedly raped by her adopted son, not the other way around.
Mayotte, 49, … is on trial in Worcester Superior Court along with her husband, Joseph Mayotte, 50, of the same address, as they stand accused of raping their two adopted children.
Both face 26 charges, including multiple counts of statutory rape of a child, rape of a child aggravated by age, indecent assault on a child and incest, among others.
Linda Mayotte testified that her 13-year-old son, adopted from Kazakhstan along with his 8-year-old sister in 2004, began being sexually aggressive toward her in 2005. Earlier in the trial, the now 21-year-old testified she was the one who sexually abused him.
“He wanted me, he wanted to control me,” Mayotte said. She said he began by brushing up against her and exposing himself to her, then escalated to asking her to perform sex acts on him. “He stopped asking and started demanding.”
She said eventually she stopped saying no.
“Why bother? It wasn’t going to do a damn thing,” Mayotte said.
Her defense attorney, Laurel Singer, showed pictures of the boy from the time in question to the jury, revealing him to be taller and heavier than Linda Mayotte.
Mayotte testified she was too scared to tell anyone about the abuse because he had threatened to go to police and say she was raping him.
“We’re here, aren’t we? This is what I was afraid of,” she said. She also said she was worried her other children would be taken away if he was to go to police.
Mayotte testified her son only stopped sexually assaulting her when he found out she was pregnant in 2007. Both sides stipulated earlier in the trial that he was the father of her child.
In 2009, her son reported the abuse to police after Linda Mayotte went to police about jewelry he admittedly stole from her.
At that time, the adopted daughter reported being sexually abused by Joseph Mayotte for nearly five years, from 2004 through 2009. She had previously told friends about the abuse in 2007.
Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle questioned why Linda Mayotte didn’t tell her husband, other family members, police, doctors or social workers about the rape she’s alleging now.
“You never told anyone in this ‘vast support network’ that your adopted son was raping you?” Riddle asked and Mayotte said no.
Riddle also noted many inconsistencies between Linda Mayotte’s first telling of the alleged rape to police, a video of which was shown earlier in the trial, and her testimony Tuesday.
“None of that was in your statement to Lt. (Tim) LaBrie,” the officer who took Mayotte’s statement, said Riddle.”
Woman accused of rape claims adopted son raped her
[The Milford Daily News 8/7/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
Update 3/August 9, 2013
Hat tip to a juror who has let us know the outcome of the trial!
‘The victims cried and hugged as the jury delivered guilty verdicts on Thursday for the husband and wife charged with raping their two adopted children.
Joseph Mayotte, 50, and Linda Mayotte, 49, both of 67 Laura Lane, were each found guilty of counts of sexual abuse, he for charges involving their adopted daughter, she for charges involving their adopted son. The jury deliberated about seven hours following the nearly two-week trial in Worcester Superior Court.
Joseph Mayotte was found guilty on 11 counts relating to his abuse of the couple’s adopted daughter that started when she was 8 years old and lasted for nearly five years.
Linda Mayotte was found guilty on 18 counts relating to the abuse of their adopted son from when he was 13 through 15.
The couple adopted the children from Kazakhstan in 2004 and were both arrested in 2009 after the male victim reported his abuse to the police for the first time. In 2007, the female victim reported the abuse to friends, but recanted before telling the police again in 2009.
Both were acquitted on the “joint venture” charges where the assistant district attorney charged each with the other’s crimes. The joint venture charge suggests that each knew of the other’s crimes and aided in their commission.
The charges included multiple counts of statutory rape of a child, indecent assault on a child and incest, among others. The child rape charge carries a potential sentence of life and a minimum of 10 years in prison.
“Justice has been served,” said Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle following the verdict.
Joseph Mayotte was taken into custody following the reading of the verdict, but Linda Mayotte was absent from the court all day on Thursday.
A source familiar with the couple said Linda Mayotte’s absence was due to an apparent suicide attempt that sent her to the hospital.
Linda Mayotte testified during the trial that she attempted to commit suicide four times after the children were removed from her home in early June 2009 and including one attempt when she was arrested on June 16, 2009.
When she was arrested, police found her in her bedroom, hitting herself repeatedly with a gun that she had apparently attempted to shoot herself with, according to testimony during the trial. She testified the other attempts were by taking prescription pills and cutting her wrists.
Sentencing for both of the Mayottes is set for Aug. 22 at 11 a.m.”
Northbridge couple found guilty of child rape
[The Milford Daily News 8/9/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
Update 4/August 24, 2013
“The sentencing of a Northbridge couple found guilty of raping their two adopted children, originally scheduled for Thursday, has been pushed back to Sept.23.
Joseph Mayotte, 50, and Linda Mayotte, 49, both of 67 Laura Lane, were each found guilty on multiple counts of sexual abuse, he for charges involving their adopted daughter, she for charges involving their adopted son, earlier this month after a two-week trial in Worcester Superior Court.
A spokesman for Worcester District Attorney’s office said he did not know the cause of the delay in sentencing.”
“Joseph Mayotte was taken into custody following the reading of the verdict, but Linda Mayotte was absent from the court during her sentencing due to what a source familiar with the couple said was an apparent suicide attempt that had sent her to the hospital the night before.
Linda Mayotte’s bail was revoked at sentencing and a spokesman for the District Attorney’s office said she is in custody.”
Sentencing delayed for Northbridge couple convicted of child rape
[The Milford Daily News 8/23/13 by Lindsay Corcoran]
Update 5/September 24-hat tip to reader who forwarded sentencing article
”
The Northbridge couple convicted of raping their two adopted children were sentenced Monday to nearly 20 years each in prison after their victims asked the court to put them away for life.
Linda Mayotte, 49, formerly of 67 Laura Lane, was sentenced to serve 18 to 22 years in MCI Framingham and her husband, Joseph Mayotte, 50, of the same address, was sentenced to 16 to 20 years in MCI Cedar Junction by Worcester Superior Court Judge Richard Tucker.
On Aug. 8, Linda Mayotte was found guilty on 18 counts relating to the abuse of their adopted son from when he was 13 through 15, while her husband was found guilty on 11 counts relating to his abuse of the couple’s adopted daughter that started when she was 8 and lasted for nearly five years.
The charges include multiple counts of statutory rape of a child, indecent assault on a child and incest, among others. Joseph Mayotte faced a count of statutory rape of a child aggravated by age, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“Let them burn in hell,” said the now 21-year-old male victim who sobbed as he spoke to the judge.
“I’ll slowly begin healing knowing they can’t harm us or any other innocent child again,” said the now 17-year-old female victim.
The Mayottes adopted the children from Kazakhstan in 2004. They were both arrested in 2009 after the male victim reported his abuse to the police for the first time. In 2007, the female victim reported the abuse to friends, but recanted before telling the police again in 2009.
The new adopted mother for Linda Mayotte’s third child, whom the male victim fathered, also gave an impact statement for the court.
“You’re a sick, selfish, heartless woman,” she said. “You were never once a mother to these children – you were a monster.”
Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle asked for 30 to 33 years for Linda Mayotte and 25 to 30 years for Joseph Mayotte for the crimes she called “jaw-dropping.”
“This is essentially a life sentence for (the victims),” said Riddle, in arguing for the lengthy sentences. “It will keep them prisoners of their childhood for the rest of their lives.”
Riddle also noted Linda Mayotte showed no remorse for her crime as she “lied, denied and falsely accused the victims.”
“These two children came here to live the American dream, but their trust was broken by these two plaintiffs,” said District Attorney Joseph Early, Jr. in a statement following the sentencing. “Now justice has been served.”
Northbridge couple receives 20 years for child rapes
[The Milford Daily News 9/24/13 by Lindsay Corcorn]
Just when I think I have heard it all. Pedophile couple, Amonster having a baby with her adopted son! I want to know who approved these sickos to adopt?
Those poor children.
It is sick and our sorry legal system took FOUR YEARS for this to go to trial!
I was one of the 12 jurors and we found them guilty on August 8 sentencing is on August 22.. They can no longer rape anyone
Thanks so much for letting us know and being a great citizen. We will update the post!
Here is the latest information – juror
WORCESTER — A Worcester Superior Court judge has sentenced a Northbridge couple to approximately 20 years in prison apiece following their August conviction on child rape charges.
Joseph Mayotte, 50, of 67 Laura Lane, was sentenced to 16 to 20 years in MCI Cedar Junction.
His wife, Linda, 49, of the same address, was sentenced to 18 to 22 years in MCI Framingham.
Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1868842366/Northbridge-couple-sentenced-on-child-rape-conviction#ixzz2fkMR09Cb
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Thanks! I will update the post
What agency facilitated this adoption
Post, the children came from Petropavlovsk and must have been adopted around 2004, so though we don’t know the agency for certain, you may be able to come up with a short list
Linda Mayotte has died of COVID-19 at 0930 April 19