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“A 31-year-old New Bedford man was convicted last week by a jury of his peers of raping a 3-year-old girl and was sentenced to serve 20 to 25 years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
Allen Beckwith was convicted after a jury trial in Fall River Superior Court of Aggravated Rape of a Child, Domestic Assault and Battery and Witness Intimidation.
During trial it was proven that on November 27, 2021 the rape victim’s mother walked in on her boyfriend (the defendant) engaging in oral sex with the young girl at a New Bedford apartment they shared. When asked what happened, the toddler immediately told her mother what the defendant had done to her.
The mother attempted to call 911, but was attacked by the defendant in an effort to get the phone away from her.
The trial was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Lopes and Jennifer Schmidt. The state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Susan Sullivan.
“The defendant engaged in despicable conduct by raping a defenseless little girl. At the time he committed this abhorrent act he was on probation for setting fire to industrial material in Barnstable. This defendant clearly is a danger to the community and does not seem to be someone who is capable of being rehabilitated. The defendant even continued to threaten the victim and her mother after the court sentenced him,” District Attorney Quinn said.”-Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
