Man who helped care for woman with disabilities accused of rape

HAVERHILL, Mass. — A Haverhill man is accused of raping a woman with intellectual disabilities who was living in his home through the adult foster care system.

Joseph Gagnon’s wife was the victim’s legal caregiver, but he acted as a co-caretaker, according to the District Attorney’s office.

Gagnon allegedly coerced the victim into performing sexual acts.

“The defendant would come into her room at night when his wife was asleep or when no one was home,” Assistant District Attorney Tom Sholds said.

The victim is 37 years old, but court documents describe her as “childlike” because of developmental disabilities.

“The defendant would tell her that this is our secret, you can't tell anyone,” Sholds said.

Gagnon has several prior incidents on his record, including pleading guilty to the assault and battery of a teen who was a customer at a tanning salon he owned at the time.

“As you go back through his 13-page record you'll notice a litany of assaultive type behavior and violations of 209A acts,” Sholds said.

The victim in this case was placed in Gagnon's home through an agency called Adult Foster Care of New England, a private entity contracted by the state.

Gagnon's sister, who only identified herself as Donna, said her brother is going through a messy divorce, which she says is the motivation behind the allegations.

“It went from a simple restraining order to all of the sudden these allegations and it's just out of control,” she said.

Cox Media Group