A 58-year-old man who worked as a substitute and Sunday school teacher in Freetown was convicted Tuesday on numerous charges connected to the sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl in 2018 who was a close friend of his son’s, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.
Gilbert Hernandez was convicted of five counts of rape of a child-aggravated by more than a 10-year age difference, two counts of rape of a child by force, four counts of indecent assault and battery, and two counts of dissemination of obscene matter to a child, Quinn’s office said in a statement. He is set to be sentenced in Fall River Superior Court Wednesday morning.
Hernandez knew the girl through the close friendship she had with his son, and through his role as a substitute teacher in the Freetown-Lakeville schools and as a Sunday school teacher at a church in Freetown. The rapes and molestations he is convicted of occurred between February and July of 2018 in Freetown, Raynham, Taunton, and Lakeville, according to Quinn’s office.
The girl and another individual are expected to give statements during the sentencing hearing Wednesday, Quinn’s office said.
