New Bedford man sentenced for ‘systematic abuse of a young child’

NEW BEDFORD, R.I. (WLNE) — District Attorney Thomas Quinn announced a New Bedford man will spend the next 20 to 30 years in prison after being convicted on multiple counts of rape of a child.

According to court documents, 45-year-old Robert Albert was convicted on two counts of rape of a child aggravated by age difference, two counts of rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14.

The same documents read that a relative of Albert’s told their older sibling that they had been sexually assaulted by Albert. That sibling called police and had Albert removed from the home and then later arrested.

The victim later told investigators that the abuse had transpired for roughly six years.

In court, both the victim and sibling testified that Albert would repeatedly force the victim to perform sex acts in exchange for things they wanted or things they wanted to do.

Albert was sentenced last week to serve 20 to 30 years in state prison, followed by 10 years of supervised probation. Conditions of the probation include no contact with the victim, no living with minor children, no unsupervised contact with children, no working anywhere with children and no relationships with any parent o a juvenile. He must also register as a sex offender.

“This was a terrible case of systematic abuse of a young child over a six-year period. Sadly, the victim’s mother was not in their life during this time, which made it easier  for the defendant to abuse them,” District Attorney Quinn said.

“A substantial prison sentence was warranted to punish this egregious conduct, which has severely impacted the victim.  I commend the victim for testifying and hope they can move forward with their life now that the criminal case is behind them,” Quinn concluded.