Massachusetts woman sentenced to prison after conviction for raping her foster child

WORCESTER – Today, a 52-year-old Massachusetts woman was sentenced to prison for raping a 12-year-old child, according to a release from Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early, Jr.

On September 12, 2025, Heather Wright-Craft of Charlton was found guilty of one count of rape of a child, aggravated by age difference, and one count of rape of a child, aggravated by being a mandated reporter. The jury also found her not guilty of one count of indecent assault and battery a child under 14. After the delivery of the jury’s verdict, Wright-Craft’s bail was revoked, and she was taken into custody.

Wright-Craft was sentenced to serve two concurrent prison terms of 10 years to 10 years and 1 day for the two aggravated rape of a child convictions.

The rapes occurred in 2015 in the town of Charlton while the defendant was fostering the victim. Wright-Craft was arrested and charged in Dudley District Court in August 2017 and indicted in Worcester Superior Court in March 2018.

“Assistant District Attorney Thomas Ayres and Victim Witness Advocate Rachel Murphy did an excellent job on this case,” said Early. “I also want to recognize the great investigative work conducted by the Charlton Police Department on the case.”

Charlton Police Department Chief Daniel Dowd said, “I’d like to thank the persistent
hard work of the DA’s Office.”