31-05-2025
Springfield man charged with 16 counts of sexual assault including rape
WESTFIELD — A Springfield man, who was a bus monitor for a company that provides transportation for people with physical and mental disabilities, was charged on May 20 in District Court on 16 counts of sexual assault, including two rapes, that occurred on a company bus involving a woman described as intellectually disabled, according to court documents.
When Clifford L. Paul, 74, of Greenaway Drive, was arraigned on the 14 counts of indecent assault and battery on a person with intellectual disability, two counts of rape, and one count each of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and suffocation or strangulation, he was ordered held pending the outcome of a dangerousness hearing, according to court documents.
It was held on May 22 and found to not a danger to the public and released on personal recognizance with several conditions, according to court documents.
Police were alerted to the incidents in early April when officers were called to Baystate Noble Hospital to investigate a report of a rape, according to the statement of facts prepared by the arresting officer.
While there, they spoke to a person who witnessed the assaults on the woman, the officer wrote. A week later, the victim was interviewed by a multidisciplinary team — the arresting officer and another officer attended.
The victim confirmed the witness's account of the assaults.
Each were included in the officer's statement.
The first four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person with intellectual disabilities and the two rapes occurred on a van trip from Westfield to Springfield.
Paul was the bus monitor and a camera on the van recorded him steadying the victim when the van would make turns.
According to the officer, Paul groped the victim twice and pressed his body against hers, which was recorded by the van's camera.
Later, on the same trip, he groped her again, she told the interviewers, and then, the van's camera recorded him as he 'positioned [himself] in a manner that presented an opportunity for him to put his hands inside the victim's pants,' which led to the two rape charges, the officer reported.
Again, on the same trip, he was recorded grabbing the victim inappropriately several times, and had an opportunity to touch her again, at which point the victim appeared 'very upset' and hit Paul's hands to remove them. He then left her alone, the officer wrote.
That encounter resulted in the two additional counts of indecent assault and battery on a person with intellectual disabilities, according to the officer's report.
On the return trip from Springfield, Paul again touched her inappropriately at least five times, which led to the five additional counts of indecent assault and battery on a person with intellectual disabilities, according to the officer's report.
None of those assaults were recorded. The charges stemmed from what the victim told the interview team, as was the charge of suffocation or strangulation, and assault with a deadly weapon (shod foot), according to the court filings.
According to the officer, Paul grabbed the victim's neck and choked her to the point where she couldn't breathe and kicked her as she got off the bus.
When released on May 22, he was ordered to wear a GPS tracker, not be employed where he would encounter 'vulnerable people including children and the mentally impaired,' according to court documents.
The court documents also indicated Paul didn't have a prior criminal record.
Youth on the Move was contacted for a comment.
The company's owner Janice Brown confirmed Paul had worked there but was terminated for reasons she declined to comment on.
She added that she couldn't offer additional comments because the case was still in court.
Read the original article on MassLive.
