Contact: Nathan Lederman 508-584-8120
BROCKTON – A Brockton man was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in state prison today after being convicted of several counts of child rape earlier this month, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz has announced.
Thomas Butler Jr., 23, was convicted on November 3 of three counts of Rape of a Child and nine counts of Indecent Assault & Battery on a Child Under 14 following a jury trial in Brockton Superior Court. He was sentenced to serve a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 19 years in state prison. Following his release he will be subject to probation with conditions that include registering as a sex offender, undergoing a sex offender evaluation with any treatment deemed necessary, staying away and having no contact with the named victims, having no unsupervised contact with children under 16, not engaging in any employment or volunteer opportunities involving children under 16 years of age, and wearing a GPS monitoring bracelet.
In June 2022, Brockton Police initiated an investigation into a series of rapes and sexual assaults which took place over a span of several years after one of Butler’s victims came forward. Butler was subsequently accused of victimizing multiple children. Brockton Police interviewed the defendant in July 2022. During the interview, Butler denied the persistent abuse he enacted on his victims.
“I thank the victims and their families in this case for their courageous testimony and willingness to work with our office to ensure Thomas Butler cannot hurt more children in the future,” DA Cruz said. “The crimes Butler committed are beyond heinous, and I am proud of my staff for their efforts in prosecuting this defendant. Child abuse has no place in our community, and we will continue to work diligently in order to stop predators like Butler.”
This case was investigated by the Brockton Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham.