Woonsocket Child Rapist Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail

WOONSOCKET, RI—A Woonsocket man arrested last year for allegedly molesting a 10-year-old girl will serve 10 years in prison after he pleaded no contest to two counts of first-degree child molestation in Superior Court on Monday.

The remainder of Michael Powell's 30-year sentence will be served suspended with probation after a plea agreement was reached, said Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin.

Powell, 53, of 182 Cumberland St., was indicted last July by the Providence County Grand Jury following his arrest in April by Woonsocket police.

Powell allegedly manipulated and molested the child, telling police that he was having contact with the child as a form of "sex education."

The victim was known to Powell, police said, and showed courage and strength to report the abuse to an adult she could trust, Kilmartin said.

"There is a system of reporting child molestation and abuse in place that is designed to get victims out of harm’s way and to effectively investigate and prosecute the abusers," Kilmartin said. "Reporting abuse to the appropriate authorities is the crucial first step in that process, and in this case, resulted in the abuser going to jail.”

In addition to the prison sentence, Powell was ordered to undergo sex offender counseling and will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

Powell has been held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston since his arrest.

He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim and have no unsupervised contact with children under the age of 14.

Powell was sentenced by Superior Court Justice Kristin E. Rodgers.

Woonsocket Police Detective Anthony Conetta led the investigation and Special Assistant Attorney General Alison DeCosta prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.