Alleged victim outlines abuse at Northbridge rape trial

WORCESTER —

The 21-year-old alleged victim of Linda Mayotte, who is on trial with her husband as the couple stands accused of raping their two adopted children, outlined two years of sexual abuse that he said began when he was 13.

Mayotte, 49, and her husband Joseph Mayotte, 50, both of 67 Laura Lane, Whitinsville, are on trial in Worcester Superior Court this week on 26 charges each, including multiple counts of statutory rape of a child, rape of a child aggravated by age, indecent assault on a child and incest, among others.

Joseph Mayotte is accused of sexually abusing the couple's adopted daughter for a five-year period starting when she was 8.

Linda Mayotte’s alleged victim told jurors Monday afternoon that she began getting in bed with him in January 2005 to give him massages to help ease pain he had from a gallbladder condition.

He said she started giving him “baby kisses” on the mouth that soon turned into “sexual kisses.”

He testified it only took a couple of weeks to escalate from kisses to oral sex and sexual intercourse.

“It was awkward, I didn’t know what to think or do,” said the alleged victim, who also said he thought it might be normal.

When his testimony resumed Tuesday, the alleged victim said he didn’t report any abuse earlier because he was afraid of being separated from his sister and his son and being sent back to an orphanage in Kazakhstan, where the Mayottes adopted the two.

He told his then-girlfriend on June 4, 2009 about the abuse after his mother accused him of stealing jewelry.

Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle submitted text messages from June 4 and 5, 2009 between Linda Mayotte and the alleged victim regarding the stolen jewelry.

Texts from Linda Mayotte show her threatening to go to the police about the jewelry.

“’Are you kidding me? I’m done with this (expletive), I don’t case what you do, just remember what I know. You know what you did to me,’” the alleged victim read to the jury from his own text messages.

Laurel Singer, the defense attorney for Linda Mayotte, submitted evidence attempting to show that the 13-year-old boy was actually the aggressor in the house, by showing his physical gains over his adopted mother and his acts of aggression.

Singer submitted Mayotte family photos, showing the victim as taller than Linda Mayotte and showing several holes he punched in his bedroom wall.

She also repeatedly questioned the alleged victim on why he didn’t report the abuse during one of many opportunities she said existed with social workers, police, teachers and friends.

Both the prosecution and the defense agreed that DNA testing confirmed that the alleged victim is actually the father of Linda Mayotte’s third child.

The prosecution also entered into evidence and played for the jury an hour-long interview between Linda Mayotte and Northbridge Police Lt. Timothy Labrie after she was arrested on June 16, 2009 where she alleges her adopted son raped her.

On the video, Linda Mayotte said she was never “the initiator,” but said she did “submit” to her adopted son. She said she was too afraid to come forward earlier because her adopted son had threatened to go to the police and accuse her of rape if she did.

Contact Lindsay Corcoran at 508-634-7582 or lcorcoran@wickedlocal.com. Follow her on Twitter @LacorcMDN.