BOSTON — The high-profile criminal case of a former Boston Police officer and former police union president returned to court Monday for a guilty plea.
Patrick Rose, 67, was accused of a total of 33 charges in connection with the rape and abuse of six minors over various periods of time beginning in the 1990s.
On Monday, Rose pleaded guilty to 21 those charges of molesting the six children over a 27-year period, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office.
Judge Mary Ames sentenced Rose to 10-to-13 years in prison and 10 years’ probation following his release.
“This sentence is not what I wanted. I wanted you behind bars until the day you die,” said Suffolk County prosecutor Audrey Mark, reading a victim impact statement.
Rose was first accused in the summer of 2020. Mark said some of Rose’s victims described being sexually assaulted “upwards of 200 times.”
“He had these children’s trust from the beginning,” said Mark. “He didn’t need to gain it. By virtue of his position, he had their trust. And he violated their trust over and over. He violated their bodies. And these children, and these adult survivors, will live with that trauma for the rest of their lives.”
Mark read some of the victims’ statements, while a few spoke in person.
“I saw you for what you really are -a coward, a predator of the weak and the defenseless,” one victim said.
“Your reputation? Absolutely gone,” said another victim. “All you will ever be remembered as is another creep who has nothing going for him. Your job as a cop protecting people? Well that’s really quite ironic isn’t it?”
Rose read a statement to the court apologizing to his victims, who described the pain they’ve been through for decades.
Rose is the former president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association. The current president of the BPPA, Larry Calderone, released a statement following the verdict.
“While there is no punishment or condemnation too severe for a man guilty of the atrocious crimes committed by Pat Rose, we hope today’s decision will bring with it some small level of comfort, closure, and vindication for the victims and their families,” said Calderone.
“We can only hope that this plea today provides some level of healing and recovery for (the victims),” said Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden. “Anyone who was in that courtroom today knows the tremendous courage, fortitude and bravery that they withstood throughout this entire horrible incident. These are monstrous, monstrous acts.”
A long-awaited report into the Boston Police Department’s handling of the Rose case was released in April 2021.
Former Boston Mayor Kim Janey released the redacted report.
“It is clear that previous leaders of the police department neglected their duty to protect and serve,” Janey said at the time. “Despite an internal affairs investigation in 1996 that found credible evidence to sustain the allegation against Rose for sexually assaulting a minor, it appears that the police department made no attempt to fire him.”
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