DA Drops Child Rape Charge Against Fall River Attorney, Igniting Protest from Accusing Daughter

FALL RIVER ─ The Bristol County District Attorney’s office dropped the most serious charge against a licensed attorney and city businessman arrested in May on a child sexual assault case on Thursday in Fall River District Court.

Aneudy Neo Gonzalez, 44, appeared at the brief hearing with his attorney and former Bristol County District Attorney, Sam Sutter.

Bristol Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Czapiga told the judge that the DA’s office has downgraded a statutory aggravated rape of a child to a count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

He also faces two additional indecent assault and battery charges for a child under 14 and a charge of inducing a person under 18 to have sexual intercourse.

All four counts are felonies.

He is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Dec. 4.

Prosecutor graduated from law school with defendant

Aneudy Neo Gonzalez, co-founder of the Fall River-based elderly care company, Mass Care Link, graduated from UMass Law School in 2015.

According to a newspaper article from the Standard Times in New Bedford on the graduating class, Czapiga also received her juris doctorate degree in 2015 from the same law school in a class of 58 students.

An email sent to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn’s office inquiring about why the DA’s office dropped the child rape charge, and if there was any conflict of interest between Czapiga and Aneudy Neo Gonzalez as former law school classmates, was not immediately answered.

Czapiga reportedly met with the victim in the current case against Aneudy Neo Gonzalez before Thursday’s hearing and informed the victim that the child rape charge was downgraded.

The victim first reported the allegations of sexual assault at the hands of Aneudy Neo Gonzalez in 2017, but District Attorney Quinn’s office declined to press charges against him at the time.

The victim again reported two incidents that allegedly occurred when the victim was 10 years old in 2024. 

Quinn’s office did pursue charges this time against Aneudy Neo Gonzalez. He was taken into custody in Florida earlier this year and brought back to Massachusetts, and arraigned in June. He has been free on $10,000 cash bail.

The Fall River Reporter does not identify the alleged victims of sexual crimes.

Another alleged victim continues to demand justice

Aneudy Neo Gonzalez’s estranged daughter, Aleciana Gonzalez, and her family have publicly called upon Quinn to take up her case of alleged rape by her father that occurred when she was about four years old.

Aleciana Gonzalez, who is now 23 and a B.M.C. Durfee school teacher, and her mother, Alicia Ward, first reported the allegations of child rape around 2007. It was investigated; however, the District Attorney at the time did not proceed with charges.

Aleciana Gonzalez and her family also reported the alleged child rape in 2024, and again, the DA’s office declined to press charges.

Like they’ve done on two other occasions, Aleciana Gonzalez and her supporters protested against DA Quinn’s office and the handling of her case before the Thursday morning hearing.

After his hearing, Aneudy Neo Gonzalez declined to answer a reporter’s questions. Dottie Sutter, Sam Sutter’s wife and paralegal, claimed that he would not comment on his pending criminal case.

However, Aleciana Gonzalez and supporters, clearly angered by the DA’s decision to drop the child rape charge, followed her biological father out of the courthouse, chanting as he climbed into an awaiting SUV.

“Protect children, not rapist,” shouted Aleciana Gonzalez.

“This is really sad and unfortunate,” said Alicia Ward.