WESTFIELD – A city man will be spending at least the next 18 years in a maximum security prison after a superior court judge accepted yesterday a guilty plea to charges including aggravated rape and sentenced him to concurrent terms in the state prison at Cedar Junction.
Anthony M. Turner, 39, of 5 Meadow Street, had been arraigned in Westfield District Court after an investigation by Det. Roxanne Bradley into an incident in May, 2011, led to charges including two counts of rape of a child with force and assault and battery of a child with substantial injury.
In a document filed in district court in support of a criminal complaint, Bradley reported that “Turner forcable (sic) assaulted a 14 year old female by performing oral sex on her and then forcing her to perform oral sex on him.”
She also explained that, when the victim attempted to leave, Turner punched her face causing her to pass out and said that the victim recovered consciousness as he was dragging her back to the bedroom where he held a steak knife to her throat causing a small laceration.
Bradley reported that “He threatened to cut her with the steak knife should she continued (sic) to yell for help” and that Turner fondled the girl’s breasts .She stated in her criminal complaint application that the girl “received serious facial injuries along with numerous cuts and bruises” including cuts on her finger, arm and under her neck.
The incident occurred in the Union Street residence of Turner’s girlfriend where the victim was babysitting for an infant child Turner and his girlfriend have in common.
Turner was arraigned in district court on two charges of rape of a child with force, assault and battery on a child with substantial injury, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14 year-of-age. Those charges were dismissed in district court when he was indicted and arraigned on the same charges in Hampden Superior Court.
Turner appeared before associate justice Tina S. Page yesterday afternoon in an unagreed upon plea hearing in Superior court.
Bradley’s supervisor, Det. Sgt. Raymond Manos explained that at an unagreed upon plea hearing the defense and prosecution attorneys agree upon charges but offer different sentencing recommendations to the judge.
Manos said that, after the attorneys make their arguments to the judge, the judge will decide on an appropriate sentence that the defendant may plead guilty to. Or, Manos said, the defendant may reject the judge’s sentence and elect to proceed with a trial.
Page sentenced Turner to concurrent terms of no less than 18 years and no more than 20 years for two charges of aggravated rape.
She also sentenced Turner to three concurrent 10-year terms for charges of kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and indecent assault and battery on a child 14 years of age or older.
The kidnapping charge results from Turner holding the girl against her will and preventing her from leaving.
Turner will serve his sentences in the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction (formerly known as Walpole), a maximum security facility.
The judge ordered that, upon his release, Turner will be placed on probation for ten years.
He will also have to register as a sex offender.
