A Kingston man awaiting trial in two child-rape cases was arraigned Wednesday on charges of raping a third child on hundreds of occasions earlier this decade.
Brockton Superior Court Judge Joseph Walker III ordered Joseph H. Gardner held on $1.5 million bail with surety or $150,000 cash bail.reported by A PAKISTAN TIMES
Gardner, 27, was already being held without bail after pleading innocent Dec. 14 to raping a 3-year-old girl when she was staying overnight at his apartment with her mother.
At the time of that alleged offense, Gardner was out on bail after pleading innocent three months earlier to breaking into a Kingston home and raping a 5-year-old girl.
Plymouth County prosecutors say publicity from those two cases prompted the victim in the latest case to come forward.
Gardner is accused of raping the child on 300 to 400 occasions from 1999 to 2002. The girl reportedly told a counselor about the alleged abuse.
Gardner was indicted by a grand jury July 2 and faces one count of forcible child rape. He faces four additional child-rape counts in juvenile court for encounters he allegedly had with the child while he was still a juvenile.
An arraignment date has not yet been set in juvenile court. Prosecutors will argue to have the charges transferred to Superior Court.
Gardner is due back in Brockton Superior Court on Aug. 23 for a pre-trial conference.
source:www.patriotledger.com
