After a day and a half of motions and attorney posturing, the molestation trial against Richard Perry got underway on Tuesday, Jan. 13, with the defendant waiving a right to a trial by a jury of his peers, and instead, allowing Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Procaccini to decide his fate.
Before the trial began, Judge Procaccini explained the trial-by-jury process to Mr. Perry, 57, who sat before the court only in leg shackles after Judge Procaccini allowed the sheriffs to remove his handcuffs while in the courtroom for the defendant’s comfort. After explaining what Mr. Perry was waiving, the judge reviewed the defendant’s decision, asking Mr. Perry if that was what he wanted.
“That’s correct, sir,” he said.
Mr. Perry faces two counts of first-degree child molestation and one count of second-degree child molestation, the same charges his brother, Jesse Perry, was convicted of last week.
The victim in the case, now a 25-year-old man, says he was sexually molested by Mr. Perry from 1997 through 2003, beginning when he was a nine-year-old boy. The victim met former coach Mr. Perry through Little League baseball.
To lay the foundation for future testimony, the prosecution called Bristol Police Sgt. Steven St. Pierre as the state’s first witness. Sgt. St. Pierre, a 15-year veteran of the Bristol Police Department, assisted with the investigation that began with Deputy Chief Steven Contente, when the victim in the case worked with police as a “controlled contact” in May 2012. At that time, the victim wore a wire while meeting Mr. Perry at a middle school baseball game at Colt State Park to gather evidence.
On the witness stand, Sgt. St. Pierre that the victim led police to a house at 50 Arlington Ave. in Warren that he identified as Mr. Perry’s residence.
Sgt. St. Pierre testified that the victim also identified a white conversion van that was owned by Mr. Perry. Sgt. St.Pierre, who was involved in executing the search warrant at the defendant’s home, went on to describe some of the items removed from the home, including a computer, photographs, compact disk, VHS tapes and three notebook style calendars.
Defense attorney Paul DiMaio argued that the calendars should not be allowed in as evidence since the warrant was too broad.
“There’s nothing in this warrant that authorizes them to seize calendars,” Mr. DiMaio said.
Judge Procaccini dismissed Mr. DiMaio’s claim, crediting the work of the Bristol Police Department and the Rhode Island State Police for their diligence in preparing the affidavit that led to the warrant.
“(It’s) phrased exactly how it should be in this kind of case,” Judge Procaccini said.
He called the warrant “reasonably specific” and “tailored as much as you can,” a ruling that could otherwise have damaged the prosecution’s case.
During Sgt. St. Pierre’s testimony, Mr. Perry took notes on a pad on the table in front of him and conferred occasionally with his attorneys, Mr. DiMaio and Stephanie DiMaio Larivee.
Before adjourning for the day, the prosecution entered about 20 photographs as exhibits, many of those being images of the interior and exterior of the defendant’s Arlington Avenue home, as well as photographs of the victim in the case.
Pre-trial motions began on Monday, Jan. 12 for the case involving the second Perry brother to be accused of child molestation. In the years prior to his 2012 arrest, Richard Perry worked at Kickemuit Middle School and Mt. Hope High School, as well as involving himself in youth sports in Bristol and Warren. Several men, now in their 40s, accuse Mr. Perry of inappropriate touching and sexually molesting them when they were children.
The prosecution agreed to preclude nine of its planned witnesses from giving courtroom testimony, including former KMS and coaching colleagues of Mr. Perry’s. Despite the defense’s motion to also remove Mr. Perry’s ex-wife from the list of witnesses, Judge Procaccini, not knowing fully what her testimony may add to the body of evidence to be presented, allowed her to remain on the list of potential witnesses.
Three witnesses, in addition to Mr. Perry’s ex-wife, are expected to provide testimony during the trial. Those witnesses, all men in their 40s, claimed to have similar experiences with Mr. Perry as the victim.
Mr. Perry has remained at the Adult Correctional Institute since his arrested in December 2012.
His brother, Jesse Perry, 61, who also waived his right to a trial by jury, was convicted on Monday, Jan. 5 on two counts of first-degree child molestation and one count of second-degree child molestation. He is being held at the ACI where he has been incarcerated since his arrest in January 2013. Judge Netti C. Vogel is expected to deliver Jesse Perry’s sentence on Feb. 23.