LOWELL — A Chelmsford man faces a jury trial in Might on expenses that he raped 5 younger women aged 6 to 14 over a span of roughly eight years, up till his arrest in 2023.
The trial in Middlesex Superior Courtroom is scheduled to start on Might 5 after 43-year-old Joshua Marshall rejected a plea deal that might have sentenced him to 18 to 22 years in jail, adopted by probation.
Marshall faces 27 expenses, together with 16 counts of aggravated rape of a kid, 9 counts of rape of a kid by pressure, and one depend every of indecent assault and battery, and indecent assault and battery on an individual with an mental incapacity. If discovered responsible at trial, he may face a long time in jail.
With the trial date set, Marshall’s legal professional, Eileen Morrison, stated that her shopper is keen to show his innocence.
“He hopes the jury finds him not guilty because he is not guilty,” Morrison stated.
The allegations in opposition to Marshall surfaced on March 30, 2023 when a good friend of one of many alleged victims approached workers at their faculty after studying the woman was presumably being sexually abused, in line with a Chelmsford Police incident report. Faculty workers contacted police, who labored with members of the alleged sufferer’s household to arrange a restraining order in opposition to Marshall.
On April 3, 2023, the alleged sufferer was interviewed by authorities from the Chelmsford Police, the Middlesex District Lawyer’s Workplace, and the state Division of Youngsters and Households. A warrant was subsequently issued for Marshall, and a pair days later, he was arraigned on a number of expenses associated to the alleged sufferer.
Since then, 4 extra alleged victims have come ahead. Throughout interviews with the ladies, police stated the victims detailed repeated incidents of rape allegedly inflicted by Marshall.
One alleged sufferer, who’s cognitively disabled, instructed authorities that Marshall additionally bodily abused her by placing her within the face with an open hand.
Throughout a listening to earlier than Choose Kenneth Salinger in Middlesex Superior Courtroom on Dec. 10, the Middlesex District Lawyer’s Workplace sought to convey an finish to the case by recommending a sentence of 20 to 25 years in jail for Marshall in trade for a responsible plea. Morrison beneficial a decade behind bars for her shopper. Each suggestions included a probationary time period following his launch.
Salinger indicated he would agree to offer Marshall 18 to 22 years in jail if he pleaded responsible.
A change of plea listening to was scheduled for Dec. 30. Nonetheless, it was canceled earlier than it started after it was introduced that Marshall determined to say no the provide.
The trial will happen in Courtroom 17 of the Cornelius F. Kiernan Judicial Heart.
Regardless of an objection from the Middlesex District Lawyer’s Workplace, Marshall stays free on bail with the situation he put on a GPS monitoring gadget and keep away from the alleged victims.
Comply with Aaron Curtis on X, previously often called Twitter, @aselahcurtis.
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