Bristol district attorney convicts man of child rape thanks to new assistance dog

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office said its new assistance dog helped convict a New Bedford man charged with rape.

Lawrence Trahan, 44, was convicted on May 6 of aggravated rape of a child and battery on a person under the age of 14.

District Attorney Thomas Quinn said a 10-year-old girl told authorities Trahan touched her in “weird places” more than 20 times.

The suspect knew the girl, said Quinn.

“During trial preparation, the victim in the case was having difficulty talking any further about the sexual assaults and traumatic experiences she went through, and it was unclear whether she would even be able to testify at trial,” said the district attorney’s office.

Quinn’s office brought in the assistance dog named “Chief,” whose main job is to provide support to victims.

The 10-year-old was able to testify with Chief’s help.

Trahan was sentenced to serve 15 to 20 years in state prison, with supervised probation for an additional five years. He was ordered to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison, and his probation will include GPS monitoring.

Trahan will be required to have no unsupervised contact with children, and register as a sex offender.