Owner of Rhode Island donut shop accused of sexually assaulting employees, released on bail

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha and Colonel Darnell S. Weaver have announced that a North Kingstown man, already under indictment for first and second-degree sexual assault, has been charged with additional sexual assault crimes stemming from an investigation by the Rhode Island State Police and Office of the Attorney General.

On September 26, 2023, 54-year-old Valdemar Leite was charged, by criminal information, with four counts of second-degree sexual assault. The defendant was apprehended by the Rhode Island State Police and arraigned in Newport County Superior Court. At the arraignment, the Court released the defendant on $20,000 bail with surety. The defendant is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on January 10, 2024.

As alleged in the criminal information, the defendant, the owner of Ma’s Donuts in Middletown, sexually assaulted two female employees while at the business, in separate incidents between 2020 and 2023.

On August 18, 2023, the Statewide Grand Jury returned an indictment charging the defendant with one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of second-degree sexual assault stemming from a separate incident involving a third victim. That case remains pending in Newport County Superior Court.

Following the indictment, the Rhode Island State Police and Office of the Attorney General continued to investigate allegations made against the defendant, leading to today’s charges.

Anyone with additional information or who would like to report incidents of sexual assault is encouraged to call the Special Victims Unit of the Rhode Island State Police at (401) 764-5549.

Trooper Hailey Hawkins of the Rhode Island State Police and Assistant Attorney General Eric Batista of the Office of the Attorney General are leading the investigation and prosecution of the case.