Rhode Island man, former teacher, commits suicide before sentencing on child molestation charges

A Lincoln man who had been found guilty earlier this year in Providence County Superior Court of multiple counts of second-degree child molestation against three victims between 2016 and 2017 has been found deceased.

On April 24, 2024, following a seven-day trial before Superior Court Justice Maureen Keough, a jury found 34-year-old Nicholas Oliveira guilty of three counts of second-degree child molestation. Additionally, Oliveira has been charged with first-degree child molestation in Connecticut. That case remains pending.

During the trial, the State proved that Oliveira sexually assaulted three girls under the age of 14, all of whom were known to him, on multiple occasions between July 2016 and December 2017.

Oliveira was to be sentenced this week, however, before sentencing, he committed suicide while on home confinement, according to multiple reports.

An obituary stated that Oliveira taught the 4th grade at Whelan School in North Providence before becoming a special education teacher in Cumberland. He spent one year teaching at Cumberland Hill Elementary and the next 5 years at Ashton School.