Northbridge couple receives 20 years for child rapes
By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff
Milford Daily News
Posted Sep 24, 2013 @ 12:00 AM
Last update Sep 24, 2013 @ 03:54 PM
WORCESTER —
The Northbridge couple convicted of raping their two adopted children were sentenced Monday to nearly 20 years each in prison after their victims asked the court to put them away for life.
Linda Mayotte, 49, formerly of 67 Laura Lane, was sentenced to serve 18 to 22 years in MCI Framingham and her husband, Joseph Mayotte, 50, of the same address, was sentenced to 16 to 20 years in MCI Cedar Junction by Worcester Superior Court Judge Richard Tucker.
On Aug. 8, Linda Mayotte was found guilty on 18 counts relating to the abuse of their adopted son from when he was 13 through 15, while her husband was found guilty on 11 counts relating to his abuse of the couple’s adopted daughter that started when she was 8 and lasted for nearly five years.
The charges include multiple counts of statutory rape of a child, indecent assault on a child and incest, among others. Joseph Mayotte faced a count of statutory rape of a child aggravated by age, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
“Let them burn in hell,” said the now 21-year-old male victim who sobbed as he spoke to the judge.
“I’ll slowly begin healing knowing they can’t harm us or any other innocent child again,” said the now 17-year-old female victim.
The Mayottes adopted the children from Kazakhstan in 2004. They were both arrested in 2009 after the male victim reported his abuse to the police for the first time. In 2007, the female victim reported the abuse to friends, but recanted before telling the police again in 2009.
The new adopted mother for Linda Mayotte’s third child, whom the male victim fathered, also gave an impact statement for the court.
“You’re a sick, selfish, heartless woman,” she said. “You were never once a mother to these children – you were a monster.”
Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle asked for 30 to 33 years for Linda Mayotte and 25 to 30 years for Joseph Mayotte for the crimes she called “jaw-dropping.”
“This is essentially a life sentence for (the victims),” said Riddle, in arguing for the lengthy sentences. “It will keep them prisoners of their childhood for the rest of their lives.”
Riddle also noted Linda Mayotte showed no remorse for her crime as she “lied, denied and falsely accused the victims.”
“These two children came here to live the American dream, but their trust was broken by these two predators,” said District Attorney Joseph Early, Jr. in a statement following the sentencing. “Now justice has been served.”
Linda Mayotte was brought into the sentencing hearing in a wheelchair and appeared to vomit into a plastic bag during the arguments after her attorney, Laurel Singer, asked for a competency hearing Monday morning.
Court-appointed psychologist Alan Schonberger testified on Monday that while Linda Mayotte was competent to stand trial, she did have depression and anxiety disorders.
He referenced the fact that she’s attempted suicide three times, the most recent of which was before the reading of the verdict in August when she apparently drank Drano and slit her wrists.
Singer, in arguing for a 5- to 7-year sentence, said Linda Mayotte is mentally and physically ill. She said her client is at a high risk for esophageal cancer and has had to be on a feeding tube.
Linda Mayotte was returned to Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain, where she has been in custody since her suicide attempt, and will only be taken to jail after she is released.
The attorney for Joseph Mayotte, Christopher LoConto, argued for a 10- to 11-year sentence for his client noting “nothing can take away the pain of the victims.” He added that the risk for re-offending in these types of cases decreases to nearly zero after a person turns 60.
Lindsay Corcoran can be reached at 508-634-7582 or lcorcoran@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on twitter @LacorcMDN.