NORTHAMPTON — Fourteen jurors will hear opening arguments at 9 a.m. Thursday in the trial of a former Northeast Center for Youth and Families employee accused of raping a teenager there in 2009.
Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Caleb Weiner, who is prosecuting the case, and Tracy E. Duncan, of Springfield, who is defending Alphonso Cintron, 34, spent Tuesday and Wednesday questioning prospective jurors in Hampshire Superior Court.
Cintron, a former overnight staffer at the center, previously pleaded not guilty to charges of child rape and abuse. He allegedly raped a female teenager who was a resident in the treatment facility, according to the Northwestern district attorney’s office.
The teen, who was younger than 16 at the time, was under Cintron’s supervision in the program.
Cintron is also accused of failing to report a separate instance in which the same teen was sexually abused by another staff member at the center, according to the district attorney’s office.
The trial is expected to last between four and six days.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com. Follow him @mjmajchrowicz for trial updates.