Ex-Chelsea School Committee member Henry Wilson pleads guilty to raping student, DA says
CHELSEA - A former elected member of the Chelsea School Committee pleaded guilty to child rape on Thursday, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
Henry Wilson, 57, was accused of raping a 12-year-old Chelsea Public Schools student. Prosecutors said that the boy was walking in the Broadway area of Chelsea in June of 2021 when Wilson offered him a ride. Wilson allegedly drove the boy to a parking lot and sexually assaulted him in the car.
Parts of the sexual assault were recorded on a phone camera, prosecutors said. The victim's family reported the sex assault to police.
A judge sentenced Wilson to five years in prison. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender and have no unsupervised contact with children under 18.
"This case involves multiple levels of abuse, including Mr. Wilson abusing his status as an adult and his status as a person of authority, particularly a person of authority over school children. But more than anything else it involves the abuse of an innocent child, and Mr. Wilson now knows the consequences of such conduct. The courage of the victim and the victim's family was crucial in moving this case forward," Hayden said in a statement.