Prosecutor outlines years of abuse by Plymouth police officer, husband at arraignment
A Plymouth police officer and her husband were released on bail Thursday after their arraignments on child rape charges in connection with repeated sexual and physical assaults on their adopted son — conduct that a prosecutor said began when the son was a teenager.
Samantha Pelrine, 31, is charged with three counts of aggravated child rape and one count of statutory rape. Pelrine's husband, Daniel Forand, 37, faces 20 criminal charges, including 12 counts of aggravated child rape. Both pleaded not guilty.
Pelrine is on leave from the police department, which said it was "appalled and deeply disturbed by the allegations" against the couple.
"We hold our officers to the highest of standards and expect them to uphold their sworn duty both on duty and off," the department said in a statement posted to Facebook . "The conduct alleged is in violation of our values and of our basic principles as police officers, to serve and protect."
The department said it would conduct an internal investigation into Pelrine's conduct, and her duty status is under review.
Pelrine's certification to work in law enforcement in Massachusetts most likely will be suspended, as she is charged with multiple felonies. All police officers charged with felonies in Massachusetts have their certifications automatically suspended.
A judge set bail at $10,000 for Pelrine and $25,000 for Forand. Both posted bail after their arraignments. Boston 25 News captured video of the couple departing the courthouse.
Prosecutors had sought $250,000 bail for each defendant. As conditions of their release, the couple must have no contact with the accuser or contact with any children under 18, surrender all firearms, stay in Massachusetts and surrender their passports.
The couple's arrest came nearly two weeks after their accuser, who is now 21, came to the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Middleborough to report the abuse. On March 15, the accuser told police he was assaulted first by Forand, then by Pelrine and Forand together, starting in 2018 and continuing over the course of seven years.
The accuser also obtained an abuse prevention order against the couple on March 17, claiming the couple began abusing him about a year after they became his guardians. He described Pelrine and Forand as "church friends" of his aunt, who cared for him until the couple took him in.
He said he moved out of the couple's home in February but added, "They are coming for me, and I am scared for my safety."
Massachusetts State Police obtained arrest warrants for the couple on Wednesday and took them into custody at their Plymouth home on Thursday morning.
Details of the abuse laid out in court
During their arraignment, Assistant Plymouth District Attorney James Duffy said the abuse began between May and June of 2019, when Forand brought the then-14-year-old into the home's master bedroom and forced him to perform oral sex.
"The alleged victim then discloses that this continues almost weekly for the next couple of years," Duffy said.
In the fall of 2019, after Forand and Pelrine married, she walked into the bedroom and saw Forand abusing the boy, Duffy said. He also recounted an incident in October 2019 when Forand called the boy into the bedroom while he and Pelrine were having sex. At the time, Forand told Pelrine to perform oral sex on the boy, but she declined, according to the prosecutor.
Then, about a week later, Pelrine had sex with the boy, and Forand forced the boy to continue, Duffy said.
"This happens numerous times, through 2019 and carrying over into 2020," the prosecutor said. "This continues on with the three of them, with the alleged victim being forced to partake in these sexual encounters with Samantha and Daniel."
Pelrine began abusing the boy without Forand present in February 2020 when she forced him to have sex with her. Before that, the abuse only took place when the three of them were together, Duffy said.
The assaults continued until 2025, according to Duffy. He argued that the serious nature of the charges, including aggravated rape through a joint venture, warranted the high bail, noting that if convicted, they would face a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence.
Forand is also accused of physically assaulting the boy when he refused to perform sex acts on him, Duffy said, recounting an incident in which Forand punched the boy, knocking him to the ground.
"There were other occasions where he would demand that the alleged victim perform sex acts on him," Duffy said. "When he would say no, he would either throw glasses at him or he would hit him physically."
Defense argues against bail
Joseph Krowski Jr., who is representing Pelrine, acknowledged the serious nature of the charges but suggested there was more to the case than it appeared.
Krowski noted that the couple adopted the boy when he turned 18 at his urging — years after the claimed abuse began.
Despite the accuser telling a judge he feared for his safety, Krowski said he asked to continue working for the couple, who own a pest control business, and to accompany them on a trip to Jamaica. He remained in touch with Pelrine in the days before obtaining the restraining order, and on March 13, asked to stay on at the pest control business.
"We also know that there was a history with this young man," Krowski said. "He was a problem, and we can document it. He had falsely accused someone of sexually inappropriate behavior when he was in high school, when he later came clean and admitted it was a sexual encounter he had with a teammate on his basketball team."
"This is a case that has viable defenses," he continued.
Tamari Kovach, who represents Forand, said her client was a "true father" to the accuser and agreed to continue employing him even after he sought work elsewhere.
"When he came to court, he was disingenuous. He was manipulative," Kovach said. Forand is "devastated and heartbroken," she said.
Duffy, the prosecutor, accused the couple of grooming the accuser and told the judge, "the public image is often different from what the private image and what's happening behind closed doors."
The couple is due back in court on June 8 for a probable cause hearing. A hearing on the restraining order was scheduled for Friday, but records related to that proceeding are not publicly accessible, leaving it unclear whether the hearing took place.
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