Woonsocket Radio News Room

Following conviction at trial, Pawtucket man sentenced to serve 30 years in state prison for first-degree child molestation

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Pawtucket man was sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve 30 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after being found guilty after trial of first-degree child molestation against a female victim under the age of 14 between 2015 and 2020.

On May 24, 2022, following the conclusion of an eight-day trial before Superior Court Justice Jeffrey A. Lanphear, a jury found Miguel Montero (age 41) guilty of one count of first-degree child molestation.

At a hearing on September 9, 2022, before Judge Lanphear, the Court sentenced the defendant to 60 years, with 30 years to serve at the ACI and a 30-year suspended sentence with 60 years of probation. The Court further issued a no contact order between the defendant and his victim. Additionally, the defendant is required to register as a sex offender, must attend sex offender counseling, is subject to community supervision requirements under state law, and will be subject to lifetime GPS monitoring upon release, pursuant to the Jessica Lunsford Act.

“Far too often, sexual assaults against children at the hands of a so-called “trusted” adult remain beneath the public radar screen. Yet make no mistake, this is an ongoing, devastating problem – we have charged over 400 such cases over the last five years alone,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Time and time again, as our prosecutors work with detectives and advocates to bring these criminals to justice, I am impressed by the incredible courage displayed by a child to come forward and call out this criminal, abhorrent behavior. In this case, another of these very brave children spoke up, and in doing so has ensured that this defendant will be unable to victimize anyone else ever again. All of us owe her and her family a lasting debt of gratitude. I am also grateful to the men and women of the Pawtucket Police Department, who continue to deliver justice for victims through their outstanding police work.”

During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that between 2015 and 2020, the defendant sexually assaulted a female victim under the age of 14, who was known to him, at a home in Pawtucket.

The victim disclosed the assault to family members in 2020, who then notified the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) and the Pawtucket Police Department. Following a brief investigation, members of the Pawtucket Police Department arrested the defendant on September 23, 2020.

The defendant is also facing charges in federal court stemming from allegations that he traveled to the Dominican Republic to engage in sex with a minor between 2009 and 2013.

Assistant Attorney General Shannon Signore and Special Assistant Attorney General Meagan Thomson of the Office of the Attorney General and Detective Justin Gould of the Pawtucket Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.