Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that William "Willie" Turner (age 48), of Pawtucket pleaded nolo contendere yesterday before Superior Court Justice Joseph A. Montalbano to one count of first degree child molestation. Under the terms of the plea, Turner was sentenced to 35 years with 11 years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation. In addition, Turner was ordered to undergo sex offender counseling and can have no contact with the victim for the full term of his sentence. Upon his release from the ACI, Turner is subject to lifetime sex offender reporting and community notification.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that on a date between 1990 and 1991, Turner molested a young boy he knew from the neighborhood in which they both lived in Providence. The victim initially reported the abuse to his foster parents in 1997 when he saw Turner on the television for a criminal offense, however he was not prepared at the time to disclose the abuse to anyone else. He finally came forward in 2014 when he reported the abuse to the Providence Police.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the Criminal Division Shannon Signore on behalf of the Office of Attorney General.