FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - A Dartmouth woman was sentenced to serve up to 12 years in state prison after being convicted last week of repeatedly raping a preteen girl, officials said.
Kayla Baumgardner pleaded guilty on Sept. 21 in Fall River Superior Court to indictments charging her with three counts of statutory rape, three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person under the age of 14, and one count each of providing obscene material to a minor and unnatural acts of a child under the age of 16, Bristol District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced Tuesday.
Baumgardner worked with the child’s mother as a CNA and the victim would regularly visit Baumgardner to see her dogs, according to the DA’s office,
Between September 2017 and August 2020, Baumgardner allegedly began abusing the young child by touching her inappropriately.
The sexual abuse escalated significantly with Baumgardner sexually assaulting the girl between 20 and 50 times, the DA’s office said.
Baumgardner would allegedly send the victim nude photos, convinced the victim to send her nude photos, and shared pornography with the child.
Baumgardner also attempted to convince the victim that she was her real mother, the DA’s office added.
The victim’s sibling was also reportedly the victim of sexual abuse in a separate case prosecuted by the DA’s office.
Baumgardner routinely accompanied the mother of the victim to court in that separate case at the same time she was regularly sexually assaulting her daughter, according to the DA’s office.
“This is an egregious example of a breach of trust by the defendant against the victim and her family,” Quinn said. “It is particularly galling that the defendant was feigning her support of the family in another ongoing sexual abuse prosecution while at the same time repeatedly sexually abusing the victim. To say the least, a substantial prison sentence was warranted.”
Baumgardner was sentenced to 8 to 12 years in state prison followed by supervised probation with numerous conditions, including GPS monitoring, for an additional 7 years.
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