A church youth group leader who was convicted of raping a 12-year-old boy and sentenced to life in prison has been denied parole.
Paul Hawksley in the early 2000s was one of the leaders of a youth group affiliated with Easton’s Fellowship Church.
Hawksley during this time repeatedly raped a 12-year-old boy — who was a member of the youth group.
Then in 2012, Hawksley was convicted of rape of a child with force, and rape of a child. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole and 20-30 years, respectively, to run concurrently.
Hawksley earlier this year got his first hearing in front of the Massachusetts Parole Board, which has now rejected the convicted rapist’s bid for freedom.
The Parole Board noted that Hawksley denies raping the boy, and there are other potential victims who never got justice.
“Mr. Hawksley has a history of prior incarceration for raping multiple children, which he admits to,” the board wrote in its decision. “The facts of all cases follow a similar pattern of predatory behavior and sexual offending. The Board did not find his testimony regarding the current offense to be credible.
“The Board reviewed the most recent Sex Offender Treatment Program report, which highlighted specific concerns and recommendations,” the board added. “Of additional concern, when asked if there were any additional victims that he sexually offended against, he stated, ‘I want to speak the truth, but I don’t want to be brought up on other charges,’ showing a complete disregard for the suffering of victims for which he was never held accountable for.”
The Parole Board’s denial to the convicted rapist comes as the board faces heat in recent months for freeing dozens of first-degree murderers.
In this case, the boy moved to Easton in 2003 and became involved in the youth group to meet new friends. Hawksley groomed the victim — calling him multiple times a day, inviting him to sleepovers, and singling him out with gifts and attention.
On one occasion, the boy was playing dodgeball at a youth group meeting and left the group to use the church bathroom. Hawksley entered the bathroom, and forced the boy to engage in oral sex.
Hawksley another time brought the boy, along with Hawksley’s family, to a Pawtucket Red Sox game. After the game, the group returned to Hawksley’s house.
Hawksley and the boy then went to play video games in the family’s basement, where Hawksley sexually assaulted the boy.
The Parole Board in its ruling noted that the testimony of the boy’s family was credible and was considered in its decision.
“The Board considered testimony in support of parole from Mr. Hawksley’s friend, his sister, and his ex-wife,” the Parole Board wrote. “The Board considered testimony in opposition to parole from three of the victim’s family members. The Board also considered testimony in opposition to parole from Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Silvia Rudman and a written submission by retired Easton Police Sergeant Detective John Lynn.
“The Board concludes by unanimous decision that Paul Hawksley has not demonstrated a level of rehabilitation that would make his release compatible with the welfare of society,” the board added.
The state’s Parole Board has been in the news recently over the nomination of a former prosecutor to the board. The Governor’s Council denied Vincent DeMore from joining the Parole Board, leading local DAs to rip the council for its “outrageous” vote.
DeMore, who served 12 years as a prosecutor in the Suffolk DA’s office along with seven years as a criminal defense attorney, would have been the lone ex-prosecutor on the Parole Board — which has been releasing dozens of first-degree murderers from prison.
Now after the denial of DeMore, the Parole Board still does not have a member with a prosecutorial background.
