COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

THE SUPERIOR COURT

WORCESTER, ss.

DOCKET No.14-CV-1955-D

CHARLENE RUTTER, AS MOTHER AND

NEXT FRIEND OF J.R.
v.
TORREY BEIQUE

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION, ORDER AND AMENDED

JUDGMENT
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
This is a civil action arising out of sexual molestation of a 12 year-old girl by the
37 year-old defendant. The plaintiff Charlene Rutter, mother of J.R., filed a motion
for partial summary judgment on liability based on the defendant Beiques
admission in the criminal proceedings to facts sufficient to support a finding of
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. That motion was allowed on September 15, 2015.
An assessment of damages was held in December 2015. Based on the following
findings of fact, a Memorandum and Order of Judgment was issued on December
31, 2015. This Memorandum supplements the Courts earlier, brief filing.

FINDINGS OF FACT
On November 23, 2013, J.R., then 12 years-old, was playing with her sister and
visiting the children of the defendant Torrey Beique at his home in Leicester,
Massachusetts. Mr. Beique led the 12 year-old girl into his bedroom. He closed
and locked the door. He placed the little girl on his bed. He touched her on her
legs, her thighs and below her waist. The little girl was terrified. This touching
continued unabated until J.R.s younger sister knocked on, and then kicked on the
bedroom door.
Mr. Beique admitted in open court to assault and battery upon the 12 year-old girl.

Mr. Beiques conduct was outrageous, extreme and beyond all bounds of decency
and utterly intolerable in a civilized society.
The emotional sequellae from that traumatic incident has been significant for the
young girl. Her personal dignity has been violated. She has suffered severe
emotional distress. She now suffers from serious anxiety and emotional
difficulties.
The young girl is now afraid to be left alone, fears being away from her family,
requires a special safety plan at school, and is in constant fear of encountering the
defendant. She has substantial difficulty in trusting anyone, and is afraid of
strangers.
She has undergone two years of counseling on a weekly basis for the first year, and
monthly thereafter. Those therapy sessions have cost her family over $7,000. Her
therapy has diagnosed her with post-traumatic stress disorder and stated that even
being in the presence of the defendant would cause her substantial anxiety.

DISCUSSION
The young victim cannot articulate the terror she experienced, and the anticipated
sexual assault she was about to endure, until her little sister had the presence of
mind (or impatience) to repeatedly kick on that bedroom door, forcing the
defendant to open it.
Let the words of her mother speak as to the horror perpetrated upon her daughter:
As I sit here and try and describe how this man (if you can
call him that) and his actions have affected our lives, there
are no words. My husband and I have tried to protect our
children from the evils of this world and keep them as
innocent as possible; we had succeeded up until this point.
Our daughter didnt have a care in the world, she is one of
the most well-mannered, thoughtful and happy children you
could ever meet. She is what innocence should be. After this
happened, I saw the light dim in my daughters eyes. She
went from being a little girl who trusted everyone to a little
girl that is lost, confused and scared. She cant go outside
and play with her friends, like she once did, without an
adult with her at all times. She wont even peek out the
2

door, afraid she may confront him. In the very beginning,

she was unable to sleep alone, to shower alone; she has
taken to playing in my parents basement when she is there
so she knows she is safe. I look at pictures from Christmas
and you can see the sadness and worry in her face. Shell
ask me questions like, I thought he was my friend! or He
used to be so nice! I thought he was my friend! Or
Mommy, when is this feeling going to go away? All I can
thing about is what happened.
How do you answer these questions? ***I lie awake at night
and cry. How could someone do this; how could I have not
seen this coming; how do I teach her there is still goodness
in the world. I feel as though the happy bubble that was our
lives has been popped. My 10 year-old daughter feels bad
that she didnt save her sister from his room. My 7 year-old
son is angry this man hurt his sister. My children have
gotten a serious dose of what kind of world we live in.1
Before they know better, children trust. Before they know better, children play.
Before they know better, children laugh freely, love openly, and forgive readily.
They do not know perversion until they are exposed to it. They do not know evil
until they experience it. And they do not know fear, anxiety, or trauma until it is
forced upon them.
This is what the defendant Beique has knowingly inflicted. His attempted sexual
assault of a 12 year-old girl shred her childhood. She no longer trusts or plays the
way she had before. This defendant pierced her open heart; displacing trust with
fear, curiosity with anxiety, and joy with trauma. She may physically survive,
persevere, and grow beyond the defendants selfish and predatory acts, but those
acts can never be undone. Childhood innocence is priceless. Can any amount of
money ever compensate for such a loss?

ORDER AND AMENDED JUDGMENT

1Victim Impact Statement in Commonwealth v. Torrey Beique, East Brookfield District Court Docket No.
1369CR02244.

This court is called upon to recompense this little girl for the perversity inflicted
upon her. Given these facts, the court enters judgment for Charlene Rutter, mother
of J.R. in the sum of $250,000, plus interest from the date this case was filed, that
is, October 29, 2014 to the present and continuing.
Further, the defendant Torrey Beique is forever prohibited from coming within 100
yards of J.R., the minor victim in this case.
BY THE COURT,
_________________________
DENNIS J. CURRAN
Associate Justice
February 9, 2016