Press Release
Fall River Man Found Guilty of Violating Conditions of Supervised Release
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts
Boston - A Fall River man was found guilty and sentenced today in federal court in Boston for violating the terms and conditions of his supervised release.
Scott Baptista, 42, was found to have violated his conditions of supervised release by United States District Court Judge Denise J. Casper by allegedly raping a woman and taking an un-prescribed suboxone pill. Baptista admitted to having sex with the victim, claiming that it was consensual. The victim died nine days after the incident of a drug overdose, and because the victim could not testify, the Commonwealth had to dismiss the related state criminal charges against Baptista. Revocation proceedings require that the government only prove that the alleged violation occurred by a preponderance of the evidence.
Judge Casper revoked Baptista’s supervised release and sentenced Baptista to two years in prison, the maximum period permitted by statute for his supervised release violation, and 12 months of supervised release to follow. In July of 2012, Baptista pleaded guilty to selling a stolen firearm and was sentenced to 55 months in federal prison followed by 36 months of supervised release.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Kanwit of Weinreb’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
Updated June 1, 2017
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