Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn, III announced that a man was convicted after a jury trial in the Fall River Superior Court of 7 counts of Rape of a Child Aggravated by Age, one count of Assault with Intent to Rape a Child, 4 counts of Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child under the age of 14 and one count of Indecent Assault and Battery on a person over the age of 14.
37-year-old, Joel Berberena, previously of New Bedford, was sentenced by the Honorable Susan Sullivan to a State Prison sentence of 30 to 35 years. Berberena was already serving a State Prison sentence of 23 to 30 years for a previous child rape case. The total sentence the defendant will serve is 53 to 65 years in State Prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Casey Smith and Jennifer Czapiga.
At trial, the Commonwealth proved that Berberena raped and sexually assaulted two young female family members over a period of 7 to 10 years from 2011 to 2020. The defendant abused the two young victims while they were in his home. He began molesting each victim starting around the age of 7 and continued into each victim’s teenage years. Berberena had previously been convicted after a jury trial in a separate case, of raping and sexually assaulting another young female family member and her close friend.
“In this case the defendant sexually abused two young victims, including one for a period of approximately 10 years. He had access to the victims because they were family members. The defendant preyed on these two vulnerable victims and engaged in this long-term despicable conduct. The defendant was convicted in March 2024 for sexually abusing a close young female relative and her young school mate. He received a sentence of 23 to 30 years. In this case, the judge gave him an additional 33-year sentence which makes the total of the combined sentences 65 years. The defendant was a predator who preyed on these young victims and deserved the lengthy sentences imposed by the court. Based on this reprehensible conduct the defendant is someone who should spend the rest of his life in jail.,” District Attorney Tom Quinn said.
