A Fall River woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison for repeatedly abusing two kids, ages 2 and 7, while she was their babysitter and using them to make child pornography that she and her boyfriend shared.
Wednesday saw the sentencing of Fall River resident Nichole Cyr, 27. After pleading guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of children, the defendant was sentenced by the District Court of Boston to 25 years in prison and five years of supervised release.
Nicole Cyr’s Arrest
After a resident of Cyr’s apartment building found Cyr’s misplaced iPhone and saw that it contained several images and videos of children being sexually abused and raped, Cyr was taken into custody in July 2020.
According to the prosecution, Cyr admitted that the phone belonged to her, that she had cared for the two kids in the pictures and videos on numerous occasions, that she had touched their genitalia and engaged in sexual acts with them, and that she had sent a man she was having a sexual relationship with explicit pictures of her doing these things.
The abuse appears to have occurred in the New Bedford children’s home, the victims’ parents confirmed, based on the photographic evidence.
The pre-sentencing memo from the prosecution claimed that Cyr and Boston resident Paul Weddington, to whom Cyr sent the images and videos, had an apparent master/slave relationship.
Weddington, 51, was given a 12-year prison term and a five-year supervised release period after being found guilty of receiving child pornography in June 2022. Right now, he is incarcerated in Connecticut’s Danbury, the Federal Correctional Institution.
Every Parent’s Nightmare
U.S. officials declared that Cyr’s crimes were unconscionable and every parent’s worst nightmare. Rachael S. Rollins, an attorney. She sexually abused two helpless children, ages two and seven, while working as a dependable babysitter. With today’s sentence, this dangerous predator will be put behind bars, where she belongs, and away from our community.
The case was prosecuted by Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit’s Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti. Cyr’s proceedings were overseen by District Court Judge Leo T. Sorkin.
Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security, stated that Nichole Cyr betrayed the trust placed in her to take care of a child in the most egregious way.
A child’s life and the lives of their family are affected in long-term and profound ways by sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Homeland Security Investigations hopes that this sentence will bring some justice and peace as they move forward.
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