35-year-old man sentenced to prison in Fall River court after drugging, repeatedly raping, 5-year-old relative

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn, III has announced that a 35-year-old man who previously resided in Attleboro, MA, was found guilty after a jury trial in the Fall River Superior Court  for two counts of Aggravated Rape of a Child by Five year Age Difference, two counts of Rape of a Child by Force, Assault to Rape a Child, Indecent Assault and Battery on a person Under 14, Lewd and Lascivious Acts with a Child under 16, Open and Gross Lewdness and Attempt to Commit a Crime (Drugging for Sexual Intercourse). 

William Machado was sentenced in the Fall River Superior Court by the Honorable Michael Cahillane late last week and received a State Prison sentence of 35-40 years followed by 10 years of supervised probation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Jose Vazquez and Victoria Bendza. 

In 2021, Machado moved to Massachusetts from out of state.  The defendant resided with family members for several months, including the 5-year-old female victim.

In January of 2022, the victim’s mother went to check on her daughter in the middle of the night and found the door to the child’s bedroom closed.  When the mother opened the door, she found Machado in her daughter’s room adjusting his clothing.  The defendant indicated the child’s television was too loud as the reason he was in her bedroom. The child’s mother noted a strong odor of nail polish remover in the room.  When the mother approached her daughter, she found her asleep in her bed but with an adult size surgical mask on her chest that was dampened with a substance that smelled like nail polish.  While approaching the victim, her mother also knocked over a storage container at the foot of the child’s bed that had an unknown brown liquid in it that smelled like nail polish remover.  The bottle of liquid, mask and odor of nail polish remover had not been present in the child’s bedroom prior.  The victim’s mother yelled at Machado that he needed to leave, as she carried the victim to her own bedroom for the evening.  The defendant gathered his belongings, including the mask and bottle of liquid and never returned to the victim’s residence.  In August and September of 2022, police and investigators spoke with the child based upon statements she had made to her parents.  The victim indicated to investigators and testified at trial that Machado had exposed his genitals to her on more than one occasion, had touched her vaginal area, had raped her by performing oral sex and by using an object. The victim indicated she asked the defendant to stop, but he did not. 

“The defendant repeatedly raped and molested a five-year-old family member simply because he had access to her. He engaged in depraved and disordered conduct that warranted a very lengthy sentence. I commend the victim for her courage in persevering through this extremely difficult ordeal,” District Attorney Tom Quinn said.