Fall River man sentenced to prison for repeatedly r*ping two minor relatives

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn, III has announced that an 80-year-old Fall River man pled guilty in the Fall River Superior Court to Aggravated Statutory Rape, Rape of a Child, Indecent Assault and Battery on a Child Under Fourteen, Indecent Exposure and Sexual Conduct with a Child for a Fee.

Roland Sampson was sentenced by the Honorable Raffi Yessayan to a State Prison sentence of 5 to 10 years followed by 15 years of supervised probation on GPS monitoring. The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Silvia Rudman and Jennifer Czapiga. 

In March of 2023, one of Sampson’s minor female relatives disclosed that he had been raped and molested her in Fall River on multiple occasions when she was between the ages of 9 and 12.  Sampson was between the ages of 73 and 77 and he would provide money or gifts to the young victim.  A second female relative also disclosed she was raped and molested by Sampson in Berkley when she was between the ages of 7 and 8. The defendant was 61 to 62 years old at the time.  Text messages recovered by police corroborated the victims’ accounts.  When presented with the text messages by police, Sampson admitted to raping and sexually molesting both minor female relatives and providing them with gift cards.

“The defendant sexually assaulted minor relatives on multiple occasions.  This clearly demonstrates a disturbed mind and a clear breach of trust in the betrayal based on his relationship with the victims.  I am pleased that the victims did not have to testify.  The defendant’s age was a factor in the 10-year sentence that was recommended and imposed by the court.,” District Attorney Tom Quinn said.