Survivors Again Join Baker In Massachusetts Dangerousness Bill Push

By Matt Murphy

Abused by their biological parents, Michael and his siblings were adopted when he was 6 years old. At first, living in his new home was “awesome,” he said, but it soon turned into a “house of horrors.”

In addition to witnessing domestic abuse, Michael and his siblings were physically, mentally and sexually abused by their adoptive father, and at age 15 Michael was placed with a foster family. He told Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito Wednesday that his foster parents helped him worked through his fear and encouraged him to report the abuse to police.

“I felt accomplished and safe when I reported it, but within hours my adopted father bailed out with a low amount of $2,000. The feeling of safety diminished and living in fear returned … ,” Michael said. “I thought I would be safe once he was arrested. Once he was out I was terrified he would come after me because I reported him.”

Michael, who did not share his last name and whose face was shielded during the governor’s livestream of the event, was one of a handful of victims of childhood abuse and trauma who shared their stories during a roundtable discussion at Quinsigamond Community College. It was the third such event hosted by the administration as Baker elevates stories of survivors to help him make a case to the Legislature for his bill that would make it easier for prosecutors and the courts to detain violent offenders while they await trial.

Baker’s bill (H 4290) would allow judges to consider a defendant’s criminal history and not just the specific charges before them when making a decision on pre-trial release and expand the list of offenses that can be used to hold a defendant as a dangerous person to include crimes like child rape, child sexual assault, child pornography and human trafficking.

The legislation would also permit prosecutors to seek a dangerousness hearing at any point in a criminal proceeding, not just at the outset, and ask that a defendant be held until the conclusion of a trial, rather than the 120 days allowed in District Court or 180 days in Superior Court.

The dangerousness bill remains before the Judiciary Committee, co-chaired by Rep. Michael Day and Sen. James Eldridge, which sought and received an extension until April 15 to decide whether to recommend the legislation.

“That fact that so many crimes against children in Massachusetts don’t even meet the let’s-have-a-hearing test is outrageous. And in addition to that the fact that the whole body of work doesn’t factor into the decision about dangerousness is equally absurd,” Baker said.

The administration has held similar events in recent months in Plymouth and Springfield as Baker has prioritized passage of his victim safety bill in his final year in office.

“This is an easy solve. An easy solve,” Baker said. “And people who hide behind this idea that this is some dramatic rewriting of the state code of regulation and state law are simply not being honest with victims and our community generally.”

Democratic leaders on Beacon Hill have spoken more favorably about a companion bill the governor has filed to outlaw “revenge porn,” and have been more reserved in their comments about the prospects for the dangerousness legislation.

Mark, another victim of sexual abuse at rape as a child at the hands of a trusted family friend, said his abuser was released on personal recognizance for the duration of his case, despite being charged with “nearly 25 counts of child sexual abuse, including child pornography.”

His release left Mark and his sisters, along with four other families in Somerville who had been victimized, feeling “vulnerable and unsafe.”

“There was no ability to appeal this status. We did not feel adequately protected by the system,” Mark said.

Even after serving his prison sentence, Mark’s abuser changed his name and fled to Florida in violation of his probation. After being returned to Massachusetts, he was subsequently found living above a daycare center in Boston.

“Each time he was released from court proceedings on his own recognizance, no bail, no dangerousness status. The judge extended his probation instead of reincarcerating him again, leaving us feeling unsafe,” Mark said.

Baker’s bill would also create a new felony offense for cutting off a court-ordered GPS tracking device.

One mother told Baker and Polito that after discovering that a lifelong friend who had lived with her family and babysat her children had been sexually abusing her 13-year-daughter, the woman and her husband were “sickened” and her daughter has suffered ongoing emotional trauma.

They would later learn from his family that this man who had been the best man at their wedding had abused other family members and friends. After his release from prison, the comfort the family felt from knowing that the abuser’s movements were being tracked by a GPS ankle device gave way to “utter panic” after they learned he had removed it in violation of his probation.

“We assumed he would be criminally charged for cutting off his GPS bracelet. We had no idea this was not a felony crime,” the mother said.

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said his office policy is to always request a dangerousness hearing in cases that involve a gun, but many times he said the laws prevent his prosecutors from effectively advocating for the safety of victims.

“Even when a gun is not used, this violence can leave scars, the physical and emotional violence that persists if a defendant is let back into the community,” Early said.

Early highlighted one provision in the bill that would allow prosecutors to ask a judge that a defendant be detained until the conclusion of their trial, rather than a set number of days.

“It’s up to the judge to decide ultimately who’s going to be held and who’s not going to be held, but we’ve got to have the opportunity,” Early said.

Baker and Polito both thanked the survivors for coming forward, describing the fear many victims feel and their reluctance to speak out as a contributing factor to the difficulty in getting the current laws changed.

“Your voices in this conversation are incredibly important and given the trauma and difficulty that’s associated with discussing it and reliving it, especially in a public setting, it’s both remarkable and special,” Baker said.

Baker filed similar bills in 2018 and 2019 and they did not advance from committee. The American Civil Liberties Union was among the critics who warned against an expansion of the dangerousness statute, arguing that some pre-trial bail reforms would be inconsistent with the goals of the 2018 criminal justice reform law.

But Polito said the administration’s plan would “level the playing for victims.”

“I can’t imagine a reason not to do this. What are we waiting for? What are we waiting for?” Polito asked.