A 49-year old Lawrence man pleaded guilty today to charges in connection with the death of a 13-year old girl he brought to the Lawrence General Hospital Emergency Department on May 20, 2019.
Carlos Rivera, pleaded guilty to 19 counts, including Involuntary Manslaughter, Aggravated Rape of Child (5 counts), Rape, Indecent Assault & Battery on a Child under 14 (2 counts), Indecent Assault & Battery on a person over 14, Human Trafficking (6 counts), Distribution of Class B drug to a Minor (2 counts), and Distribution of Class A Substance.
Judge Thomas Drechsler sentenced him to 20 to 22 years in state prison, followed by 10 years of probation. While on probation, the Judge ordered him to participate in substance use, mental health and sex offender evaluations and undergo any treatment deemed necessary, stay away from and have no contact with any of the victims, have no unsupervised contact with children under 18, submit to GPS monitoring for at least 2 years, and comply with the Sex Offender Registry Board.
Had the case gone to trial, Essex Assistant District Attorney Jessica Strasnick would have introduced evidence that would have proved that on May 20, 2019, Carlos Rivera drove Chloe Ricard, who was unresponsive and without a pulse to Lawrence General Hospital. She was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital. Investigators learned that a friend had received a SnapChat video of Chloe, showing her unresponsive and unconscious at 7:00 am that morning. She remained in that condition at the defendant’s home until he brought her to the hospital 9 hours later.
The subsequent investigation found that the defendant provided alcohol, drugs, food, clothing and gifts to multiple girls in exchange for sexual acts. The charges to which he pleaded guilty for conduct that took place from late 2013 to May of 2019 that victimized 3 adult women and 7 girls under 18.
Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett thanked ADA Strasnick, Victim Advocates Amy Snow and Maureen Wilson Leal, Massachusetts State Police Lt. Robert LaBarge, MSP Troopers Matt Wilson and Matt Murphy and Lawrence Police Detectives Timothy Yerian and Kevin Nigohosian for their work on this case.
“Nothing we do can erase the trauma inflicted by this defendant or bring Chloe back to her family,” Blodgett said. “This defendant engaged in abhorrent behavior and preyed on vulnerable girls and young women solely for his own satisfaction. I hope his pleading guilty today helps the victims understand that what happened to them is not their fault and that they may begin the long process of healing.”
