Thomas E. Smith case-UPDATED

From Dudley,Massachusetts, foster parent Thomas E. Smith Jr., 49 has been “accused of raping a girl is to be arraigned April 15.”

“Thomas E. Smith Jr., 49, of 3 Marshall Terrace will go before a Dudley District Court judge to face five counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or younger, and a count each of lewd, wanton and lascivious conduct, and rape.

Mr. Smith wasn’t arrested. A clerk magistrate recently found probable cause to send the case to a judge.

The assaults allegedly occurred during an approximately 16-month span, the police report said.

Last month, the girl’s current foster mother brought her to the Worcester district attorney’s office to be interviewed by investigators. The girl, 16, no longer resides with Mr. Smith.

The teen made several disclosures of past sexual assault incidents involving Mr. Smith. She said the alleged assaults occurred in his home, usually after she had gone to bed, the report said.

In one incident, Mr. Smith allegedly removed her pants, made inappropriate contact with her, and asked her to do the same, the report said.

The girl said he told her not to tell anyone. The girl told investigators she would say no to his advances, the report said.

Mr. Smith, who indicated he had been a foster parent for more than 14 years, denied the allegation and said he would be willing to take a polygraph test, the report said.

The girl was interviewed by the district attorney’s sexual assault intervention network, consisting of Assistant District Attorney Tracy Kennedy, Department of Children and Families investigator Kevin Foley, victim-witness advocate Erin Beech, and forensic interviewer Gina Melendez. Dudley Police Officer Philip Megas was also present.”

Foster parent from Dudley accused of rape
[Worchester Telegram and Gazette 4/2/14 by Brian Lee]

 

Update: “All charges of rape and indecent assault and battery against longtime foster parent Thomas E. Smith of Dudley have been dismissed in Dudley District Court.

Early last year, the accuser’s foster mother brought her to the Worcester district attorney’s office to be interviewed by investigators. The 16-year-old alleged that sexual assaults occurred while she resided with Mr. Smith, her former foster parent.

The assaults occurred during a 16-month span in Mr. Smith’s home, a police report said.

The report said the teen disclosed sexual assault incidents involving Mr. Smith in his home, usually after she had gone to bed.

The girl told investigators she said no to his advances and he told her not to tell anyone.

Mr. Smith, the report said, denied the allegation and offered to take a polygraph test. The 50-year-old had been a foster parent for more than 14 years.

A clerk magistrate found probable cause to send the case to a judge. Mr. Smith, of 3 Marshall Terrace, was arraigned in April 2014 and charged with rape, wanton and lascivious conduct and five counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.

The rape charge was later reduced to a sixth count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.

According to court records, Gina Gollaz of the state Department of Children & Families, filed a motion in court to dismiss all charges, saying, in part, that Mr. Smith and the accuser “do not wish to undergo the rigors of a trial.” 

Judge Robert G. Harbour granted the motion March 19. ”

Rape, indecent assault charges dropped against foster parent[Telegram 3/25/15 by Debbie La Placa]