Two Haverhill Men Sentenced in Separate Rape Cases

Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett.

 District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.

Two Haverhill men were sentenced to prison Wednesday in separate rape cases. A 51-year-old was convicted of rape of a child while a 30-year old Haverhill man was convicted of raping his girlfriend in 2013.

Sebastiao Dasilva, 51, of Haverhill, was found guilty by a jury Wednesday in Salem Superior Court of rape of a child with force, assault to rape a child and eight counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. Judge Timothy Feeley sentenced him to nine to 12 years in state prison followed by five years of probation during which he must submit to sex offender treatment, have no unsupervised contact with children under 16 and have no contact with the victim, her sisters or her mother.

Essex Assistant District Attorney Ashlee Logan introduced evidence that proved Dasilva sexually assaulted a young girl beginning in 2007, when she was between the ages of nine and 13, in a Haverhill apartment.

In a separate case, Jeffrey Lewis, 30, of Haverhill, was sentenced to four to six years in state prison today. Lawrence Superior Court Judge Joshua Wall imposed the sentence after a jury convicted Lewis Tuesday. He was charged with four counts of rape and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Wall also ordered him to serve five years of probation upon his release from prison.

“This verdict sends a message to every person who has been victimized by a dating partner or a spouse. Just because you are married or dating does not mean you cannot be raped,” District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said. “I commend the victim for her courage and hope that the verdict provides her the opportunity to put this terrible crime behind her.”

Essex Assistant District Attorney Kim Gillespie introduced evidence that proved Lewis raped his girlfriend four times on three separate occasions in 2013. On two occasions the rapes took place in the Haverhill apartment that they sometimes shared. On July 11, 2013, he was arrested for a domestic assault and battery by Haverhill Police. When the victim sought a restraining order, she disclosed that she had been forced to have sexual relations with Lewis.

Essex Victim Witness Advocate Tiffany Sullivan provided assistance and support to the victim, while Essex Victim Advocate Jocelyn Pichardo provided assistance and support to the Dasilva’s victim and her family. Lewis was represented by Attorney Ronald Ranta while Dasilva was represented by Attorney Victoria Ranieri.

Both prosecutors praised Haverhill Police Detective Joseph Benedetti for his work on each investigation.