Ware man convicted of child rape

August 24, 2011

A Ware man has been convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl 20 years ago.

Gerald Battistoni was convicted Tuesday in Hampden Superior Court of four counts of rape and abuse of a child. He was also acquitted of two charges of child rape. He is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.

A custody battle between the 49-year-old Battistoni and his ex-wife, who is no relation to the victim, sparked the charges last year.

Prosecutors say the victim, now in her 30s, was scared and confused at the time, and Battistoni told her he wanted them to be together when she was older.

The Republican ( http://bit.ly/mSHv5w) reports that Battistoni’s lawyer called the entire case a fiction concocted by people who had an ax to grind with his client.

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Information from: The Springfield Republican, http://www.masslive.com/news/