Pawtucket child rapist convicted on new child molestation charges

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Pawtucket man was found guilty in Providence County Superior Court of multiple counts of child molestation against a female victim under the age of 14, from 2012 to 2018.

On March 7, 2022, following the conclusion of a six-day trial before Superior Court Justice Daniel A. Procaccini, a jury found 43-year-old Milton Aponte guilty of one count of first-degree child molestation, three counts of second-degree child molestation, and one count of simple assault. The jury reached their verdict following approximately four hours of deliberation.

The defendant is scheduled for a status conference on March 28, 2022, in Providence County Superior Court. The defendant is currently being held without bail pending sentencing in this case, and for violating the terms of a previously imposed sentence for child molestation. He also is facing prosecution for failure to register as a sex offender, which is currently pending in Superior Court.

“Sexual assaults against children at the hands of a trusted adult remain an ongoing, devastating problem in Rhode Island – we have charged over 400 such cases over the last five years alone,” said Attorney General Neronha. “While nothing can reverse the damage the defendant has caused, it is my hope that his conviction and the lengthy sentence of imprisonment he now faces will bring a measure of justice for the victim and her family. I am grateful to the victim for coming forward and demonstrating strength and resiliency throughout the investigation and prosecution of this case.”

During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that between 2012 and 2018, the defendant sexually assaulted a female victim under the age of 14, who was known to him, at several locations in Pawtucket.

The victim came forward in 2018, and investigators from the Pawtucket Police Department determined that the victim had been abused multiple times from the ages of 8 to 13.

“Cases such as these are devastating for the victim and difficult for the community. However, I want to thank the whole team who has worked on this case and the willingness of the victim to come forward as we worked to investigate this terrible crime,” said Acting Public Safety Director Chief Tina Goncalves. “The Pawtucket Police Department and Attorney General’s Office were dedicated to this case and spent countless hours on investigation and prosecution of the defendant.”

The defendant was previously convicted by a jury of first-degree child molestation in 1998. After his release from the Adult Correctional Institutions in 2012, the defendant was serving the remainder of a 40-year suspended sentence when he committed the new child molestation crimes.

Assistant Attorney General Shannon Signore and Special Assistant Attorney General Alison Bittl of the Office of the Attorney General and Detectives Ray Doran (Ret.), Carrie Hormanski, and Jonathan Gagnon of the Pawtucket Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.