Fall River man sentenced to prison for molesting child family member

A 39-year-old Fall River man was convicted after trial last week in Fall River Superior Court of indecently assaulting a teenage female family member, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

According to Gregg Miliote of the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, Eric Smith was convicted of indecent assault and battery on a person under 14 after an eight-day trial. After his conviction, Judge Thomas McGuire sentenced the defendant to serve five to 10 years in state prison.

The case was prosecuted by Second Assistant District Attorney Silvia Rudman and Assistant District Attorney Casey Smith.

During the trial, the victim testified to the fact that the defendant groomed her for years before eventually molesting her by forcing her to masturbate him while watching pornography together.

Although the abuse ended in 2013, it did not come to the attention of the authorities or other members of the family until the victim’s brother found out about it and reported it in 2017.

“The defendant took advantage of his position of trust with the victim and sexually abused her. This was a very difficult case to prosecute and I commend the prosecution team for their efforts in obtaining a conviction. I hope the victim can move forward with her life,” District Attorney Quinn said.