NORTHAMPTON — During the first day of the trial for a Springfield man accused of raping a 15-year-old girl in 2009, prosecutors alleged he cajoled her into performing oral sex, while his lawyer contended that this is a case of a troubled child manipulating the adults around her.
Alphonso S. Cintron, 34, a former night supervisor at the Northeast Center for Youth and Families residential program called the Grove in Northampton, has pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court to charges of rape and abuse of a child as well as child abuse.
Cintron also allegedly failed to inform authorities that the same girl had been raped by another staff member, Fabian Williams, who is being tried separately. Williams has pleaded not guilty to rape and two counts of aggravated rape of a child. The charges against him involve at least two different victims.
The Grove, which closed in December 2012, accommodated up to 16 at-risk youth at a time, with boys on one side of the building and girls on the other. Clients were between the ages of 12 and 21.
Cintron was responsible for supervising the group of girls, Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Caleb Weiner said in court. Cintron had a position of trust and power and authority over these girls, Weiner added.
Cintron enticed the vulnerable 15-year-old girl with a known history of behavioral and boundary issues to perform oral sex on him, Weiner said during his opening statement to the 14-member jury. In exchange, Cintron provided her with his friendship and cigarettes, and the two exchanged stories about their respective family hardships, Weiner said.
Sitting next to his defense attorney, Tracy E. Duncan, of Springfield, Cintron shook his head as Weiner continued his opening statement to the jury.
“The defendant was supposed to be taking care,” Weiner said. “Instead, he took advantage.”
This was, indeed, a case of someone being exploited and manipulated, Duncan told the jurors in her opening statement. And that someone was Cintron.
“This whole case centers around one person’s believability and credibility,” Duncan said.
Duncan told the jurors that the 15-year-old girl disclosed to staff at the center that she kissed Cintron, but that details regarding a sexual encounter with him did not emerge until the girl was questioned by the district attorney’s office when she accused Williams of raping her.
“This case involves a young girl who has manipulated the system,” Duncan said.
On Thursday, jurors also heard from the first witness in the trial, Rashida Rosario-Daniels, director of residential services for the center.
“He was pretty by the book,” Rosario-Daniels recalled of Cintron’s work performance. “There wasn’t a lot of interactions he had without his supervisors.”
Cintron, however, was eventually terminated for reasons unrelated to this case, she testified.
Rosario-Daniels told the jury that the girl was brought to the center by her parents who said she had a drinking problem and a history of engaging inappropriately with older men.
Rosario-Daniels acknowledged that there was a complaint filed at some point involving reports of Cintron giving cigarettes to youngsters at the center. And when center officials interviewed the alleged victim regarding the complaint, she told them she and Cintron had kissed, but nothing else.
The trial is scheduled to resume at 9 a.m. Friday.
Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.