Posted on 07/14/2008 7:16:59 AM PDT by pabianice
Raynham father warns Market Basket shoppers of ‘predator’ employee he says groped his 4-year-old son
A father says he was horrified to find out that a janitor accused of groping his son in a bathroom stall at Market Basket is still working there.
RAYNHAM, MA — One Raynham father is taking justice into his own hands, warning other parents this week about an alleged “predator” who he says groped his 4-year-old son in a supermarket bathroom last month.
Police said the suspect, an elderly janitor at Market Basket, allegedly reached under a bathroom stall partition and touched the boy’s calf while the child was standing on a bucket June 1.
The boy’s enraged father, who police said saw it happen, allegedly flung open the adjacent stall and punched the janitor, giving him a cut on his lip and a welt on the middle of his head.
The employee, Valerio Rodriguez, 71, of Providence, allegedly told police through a translator “that he was wrong for touching the little boy.”
Although Rodriguez faces a felony charge, the father, Jason R. Beatrice, 31, was reportedly horrified to see him still cleaning floors at Market Basket when he visited the store July 4.
“He was pushing a mop bucket smiling at children,” reads an anonymous flier, which police said Beatrice authored and distributed in Raynham.
“The predator did admit to police that he touched my son, but stated he was just joking around,” the flier stated.
But for this family, it was no joke.
“My son refuses to go to Market Basket and will not go to the bathroom in a public bathroom,” the flier stated. “He is still scared.”
Beatrice did not return a call seeking comment, and there was no answer at the door of his Oak Street home.
A spokesman for Tewksbury-based Demoulas’ Supermarkets, owner of the Market Basket chain, said Rodriguez “has been suspended pending investigation by law enforcement authorities.”
“Because this case is under investigation, we are not able to make any further comments at this time,” said company spokesman Jay Rainville.
But at least one shopper said on Thursday the chain has likely lost a customer.
“If I would’ve known, I wouldn’t have come here,” said Alisa Lacomb, a Taunton mother of three about to do her food shopping.
But others interviewed in the parking lot, most of whom declined to be identified, said they believed it was an unfortunate, isolated incident.
Police seemed to agree.
“It’s far more likely that a young kid is going to get molested by somebody he knows than by some stranger in the restroom,” said Raynham Police Chief Louis J. Pacheco.
Pauline Grady of Easton said she would remain a loyal customer.
“I feel safe — and I like to shop here,” she said.
Rodriguez was charged with indecent assault June 1, but he was not arrested. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Taunton Superior Court July 29.
Police also charged Beatrice with assault for hitting Rodriguez, saying they sympathized with him but would have preferred he had waited for police to arrive.
Beatrice is scheduled to be arraigned July 31.
Police said they did not arrest Rodriguez at the scene due to his advanced age and lack of a criminal record.
“The reason you would (make an arrest) would be to stop the crime or you don’t think the person would show up in court,” said Pacheco, the police chief.
Arresting Rodriguez, he said, would have required police to also arrest Beatrice, a scene that might have further traumatized the young boy.
Decisions like giving Rodriguez a summons rather than handcuffing him at the scene are the police chief’s responsibility, said Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.
“They have the discretion until the arraignment, then it’s our case,” he said.
Gatehouse News Service staff writer Tim Faulkner contributed to this report. Jessica Scarpati can be reached at jscarpati@enterprisenews.com.
sounds like the perp is an illegal alien.
amazing how they have more rights than the citizens in this nation.
Citizens of Raynham, you have a moron as your Police Chief.
Welcome to GAYsachusetts, the sickest state in the union where predators, illegals, perverts and all around criminals have more rights than anyone else......
(DA Martha Coakley (ago@state.ma.us; (617) 727-8400) said, “We can’t have people taking the law into their own hands. The father should have waited for the police.” )
Hey lady, get a clue. This Nation was FOUNDED by people that “took the law into their own hands” to accomplish that....
While we need the Police, nothing in the Constitution states that we give up our rights to protect ourselves and our fasmilies just because a Police Force exsists.
Hey, Jackass Police Chief, the issue is not ‘who is likely’, it is ‘who actually committed a crime.’
1. Determine if he's here legally.
2. If not, jail him for 10 or 20 years or so for the two crimes.
Can we be so lost in theories and hypothetics that we can no longer see a criminal when he has committed a crime?
Kudos to the boy's father.
Raynham Police Chief Louis J. Pacheco
viva la raza
(DA Martha Coakley (ago@state.ma.us; (617) 727-8400) said, “We can’t have people taking the law into their own hands. The father should have waited for the police.”)
So DA Coakley. Two scumbags drag you off the street into an alley and are in the process of raping you. Four big strong fellows just getting off work witness this and after dialing 911 run into the alley.
Now according to your statement above, they should just stand their and watch the proceeding rape until such time as a Police Officer shows up? You specifically would not want them to interfere and tackle your assailants? Is this what you are really saying?
When a 70 year old guy reaches into the next stall of a bathroom and touches a young kid the likelihood of it be an "isolated" incident is about....
If I’m in the jury which tries this guy (which is a possibility) my vote will be....”not guilty....all charges”.
Yep. It is amazing how many in today’s society just ignore the plain facts and continue on as if nothing is going to happen to them. Clueless idiots.
And, "Fuera la raza, nada!"
Regardless of the circumstances, that janitor should have been fired ASAP. This is a travesty.
I would have done exactly what the Father did.
Reaching under a stall and touching someone’s child is sick and perverted. Who knows what else this creep’s done that he hasn’t been caught doing.
when seconds count, you can count on the Police to show up in, oh... about 20 minutes.
This janitor is lucky, very lucky that all he got was punched in the face.
I'm just sure that this wasn't the first time he's done that either.
The employee, Valerio Rodriguez, 71, of Providence, allegedly told police through a translator “that he was wrong for touching the little boy.”
I don't understand ow this is physically possible. Even if the elderly gentleman is circus people. I've never seen a space between a stall high enough to do anything like that. And no, I'm not defending the guy. IT just sounds hinky to me.
I don't understand how this is physically possible. Even if the elderly gentleman is circus people. I've never seen a space between a stall high enough to do anything like that. And no, I'm not defending the guy. IT just sounds hinky to me.
Police seemed to agree.
“It’s far more likely that a young kid is going to get molested by somebody he knows than by some stranger in the restroom,” said Raynham Police Chief Louis J. Pacheco.
It's a little scary how indifferent everyone seems to be to this. Almost accepting of it, as if an old man touching a 4-yr-old's leg is just the way it goes when you're out in public, what's the big? The inescapable inference here is that despite the fact that "some stranger in the restroom" actually did it, it's the protective father we should be more suspicious of!
DA Coakley needs to be reminded of these words:
“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. “
I know this is the way things are supposed to be when nobody is in immediate danger, but the DA needs to inject a little reality into his view. You just can't expect a father to see his son groped and not at the very least deck the guy who did it. I think the father showed restraint in not embedding a mop handle in the guy's skull.
“If I would’ve known, I wouldn’t have come here,” said Alisa Lacomb, a Taunton mother of three...
Taunton??? How did she get here from Hoth?
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/168/416193213_a3b38e13be.jpg?v=0
“It’s far more likely that a young kid is going to get molested by somebody he knows than by some stranger in the restroom,” said Raynham Police Chief Louis J. Pacheco.
He was already molested by a stranger in a restroom, you effing twit!
“The reason you would (make an arrest) would be to stop the crime or you don’t think the person would show up in court,” said Pacheco, the police chief.
No, you arrest somebody for committing a crime, like molesting a boy in the restroom, jackass. What a complete idiota this schmuck is!
Not that uncommon in MA and CA. I once lived in the bay area south of San Fran and queers trolling for kids was fairly routine. Back then, they would be hauled to jail and never heard from again. Now, it is a violation of their civil rights and ultimately will be classed as a hate crime and homophobic to deny the deviants access to kids. We must be progressive in our thinking. sarc
My thought too. It doesn't make a lot of sense the way it is written. I generally assume that reporters tend to get basic facts just wrong, and proceed to explain things imprecisely. Whatever actually happened, it probably wasn't captured correctly in the story.
Here in Arizona we can use deadly force to stop sexual assault.
I guess this is why women are bringing their 8-year-old sons into the women's room - completely inappropriate, but more understandable in light of this.
why is it "completely inappropriate" for an 8-year old boy to be in the women's room accompanied by his mother? just wondering... i can see how you might say that about a 12-year old... but 8?
Eight is way too old to be in the women’s room. I think six is pushing it. The only solution I see is to get rid of the multiple-stall bathrooms entirely and go to unisex single-user bathrooms with real doors with real locks.
What's the upper age limit for boys that women should be willing to have in the women's room with their young daughters? Do those women have no right to protect their children's innocence?
yes--i understand you think that, but why is eight tooooo old?
If they’re old enough to know the difference between genders, they’re old enough to use the correct bathroom for their gender.
Yes, the people of Raynham should be advertising for a new police chief. What an idiotic thing to say.
Good for the father. I’m on his side. He stopped the perv before his hand got any higher.
Too bad it’s open season for children in Massachusetts.
And the perv is an illegal? Another triumph for diversity.
Filthy perv is lucky he’s still alive. I’d have literally stomped him into the toilet and flushed repeatedly.
Child molesters may not face death in the courts, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t face the wrath of the father if the scum is caught in the act. I’d never vote to convict a father for defending his child from a molester.
If the police are going to arrest me for punishing someone attacking one of my children, I’m going to earn it.
That’s he’s an illegal piece of filth just makes it even more disgusting.
My Hero of the Day.
Hi there. That’s all incorrect.
My nephew wanted to pee like a “big boy” so my brother set the bucket down for him to stand up. When he was done, my brother took him down from the bucket, pushed the bucket away, and while my nephew was pulling up his pants, the hand came out from under the stall. The man touched his calf and moved his hand up to my nephew’s thigh. The man was sitting in the stall, fully clothed. Just sitting there.
When my brother saw the hand, he smacked it away. Then he hit the guy, by nephew was crying, and he picked him up and got him out of there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
