Jury selection begins for Florence man accused of child rape

NORTHAMPTON — Jury selection began Monday in Hampshire Superior Court for the trial of a Florence man accused of child rape and assault and battery on a child under 14.

Scott Duseau, 52, of Westhampton Road, faces two counts of statutory, aggravated rape of a child, and five counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He has denied all the allegations.

Duseau was arraigned on the charges in Northampton District Court in September 2022 after the alleged victim, a child of 7, reported several incidents of sexual abuse during an interview at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hampshire County, according to a Northampton police report.

At the time, Duseau was a member of the household where the boy lived.

Following his arraignment in Superior Court in October 2022, Duseau was released on $5,000 bail and on conditions that he stay away from the alleged victim, have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18, and avoid staying overnight anywhere children are present.

Duseau’s trial is expected to take a week. He is represented by attorney David Mintz. Assistant District Attorney Anne Yereniuk is prosecuting the case.