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Man accused of raping disabled woman

Eagle-Tribune - 3/10/2017

March 10--HAVERHILL -- A local man who was accused in 2009 of inappropriately touching a teenage girl at a Groveland tanning salon was charged this week with raping a mentally disabled woman, police said.

Joseph Gagnon, 50, whose last known address was 177 Liberty St., Haverhill, according to police, appeared Wednesday in Haverhill District Court. He was arraigned on charges of rape, indecent assault and battery on a person with an intellectual disability, and permitting the abuse of a disabled person.

Police said Gagnon raped the woman, who is in her late 30s, while she was in the care of him and his now-estranged wife. They received money from the state to care for her in their home, police said.

Police said the victim was placed in Gagnon's home by an adult foster care agency. When she was a child, she was removed from the home of her biological family due to neglect and abuse, according to a police report.

Police said Gagnon coerced the victim into sexual encounters by telling her that he loved her and hated his wife. He threatened to have the victim removed from his home if she told anyone about what they were doing, police said.

Gagnon's wife described the victim as "childlike" and said she has a doll that she treats like a real baby, according to police.

Judge Stephen Abany set bail at $5,000, which was later posted by a Haverhill man, according to court officials.

Abany ordered a variety of conditions for Gagnon's release, including that he have no contact with the woman, is fitted with a GPS tracking device, and is to stay out of Haverhill and surrender his passport to probation officials. He also was ordered to abide by a restraining order that his wife was granted recently.

According to a police report on file in Haverhill District Court, on March 2 about 1:10 p.m., police officer David MacKinnon responded to 177 Liberty St. for a report of abuse by a caretaker.

According to the report, the victim told MacKinnon that she has lived in the house for three years and that for the past two years, Gagnon, whom she referred to as "JoJo," was sexually assaulting her. She said she didn't resist Gagnon because she felt bad for him after he told her that he and his wife were not having sex, according to the report. The victim also told police that Gagnon told her that he loved her and that she was "his girl," the report said.

According to the report, Gagnon's wife told police that she and Gagnon had an argument Feb. 27 and, as a result, she was granted a restraining order. The alleged victim of the sexual assaults told police that when she learned Gagnon was about to drop by the home to retrieve his belongings, she became fearful and confided in Gagnon's wife about what "JoJo" had been asking her to do, the report said.

A representative from the adult foster care agency who was with the victim during questioning told police that the victim suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and schizo-effective disorder, according to the police report. The representative told police she would file a report with the Disabled Persons Protection Commission. Police said they will file a report with that agency as well, according to the report.

Detective Penny Portalla, who helped with the investigation, said in her report that Gagnon and his wife are considered the victim's caregivers, for which they are paid monthly through MassHealth.

Gagnon was arrested on a warrant for having violated his wife's restraining protection order Monday. He was arraigned on the violation charge Tuesday in Haverhill District Court, where he was ordered held without bail. His case was continued to Wednesday, when he was arraigned on the sexual assault charges.

In the 2009 case, Gagnon was charged with inappropriately touching a teenage girl at a Groveland tanning salon. According to court documents, he asked the girl to remove her shirt so he could apply lotion to her back on one occasion. On another occasion, he asked her to remove her shirt and then removed his own clothing, exposing himself, and touched the victim inappropriately, according to the documents.

In that 2009 case, under a plea agreement approved by a judge, Gagnon received a one-year jail sentence that was suspended for 18 months. As a condition of probation, the judge ordered Gagnon to stay away from the girl and her family. In March of 2010, Gagnon pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of assault and battery.

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