PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Charlestown man was sentenced on January 7, 2021 in Washington County Superior Court to serve 12 years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after being found guilty of first-degree sexual assault stemming from a 2015 incident involving an 18-year-old female victim.
Angelo Fraley (age 28) was found guilty on October 30, 2020 of one count of first-degree sexual assault, following a jury-waived trial presided over by Superior Court Justice Melanie Wilk Thunberg.
At Thursday's hearing before Judge Thunberg, the court sentenced Fraley to 25 years at the ACI with 12 years to serve and the balance of the sentence suspended with probation. The court further issued a no contact order between Fraley and the victim. Additionally, Fraley is required to comply with all statutory requirements relating to sex offender registration and attend counseling.
"The defendant's reprehensible conduct warranted the lengthy sentence imposed by the court and sends a message that perpetrators of sexual violence will be held accountable for the terrible trauma they inflict upon their victims," said Attorney General Neronha. "I am grateful to the victim for her courage and to the University of Rhode Island Police Department for their work in support of this successful prosecution."
During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that on June 30, 2015, Fraley sexually assaulted the victim near an abandoned building in close proximity to the beach at the University of Rhode Island's Bay Campus in Narragansett.
On the day of the assault, Fraley, the victim, and a group of friends spent time together at a beach in North Kingston. After a few hours, the group decided to relocate to a beach near the URI Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett. During the evening, the group of friends dispersed, while Fraley and the victim remained in the vicinity of the beach where he then sexually assaulted her.
Captain Mike Chalek of the University of Rhode Island Police Department led the investigation. Assistant Attorney General Mark Trovato prosecuted the case on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General.
###