A Worcester, Massachusetts man previously convicted of manslaughter in the 2007 death of his infant son will face eight to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to a separate child-rape charge.
45-year-old Bruce L. Boddie pleaded guilty in Worcester Superior Court to one count of statutory child rape, which was amended from an original charge of child rape aggravated by age.
Boddie admitted Thursday to having a 15-year-old girl to perform oral sex on him in October 2019 while others who had been present left for an errand.
Boddie, who was not accused of using force, told police he thought the girl was 16.
“My child has not been the same person since that terrible day,” the victim’s mother told the court Thursday over Zoom, calling Boddie an “animal” and a “predator.”
“She was at her friend’s house. She should have been safe. Did you think that no one loved her?
“Did you think she had no family? That no one would find out?”
The woman praised her daughter for having the courage to press the matter in court.
“She is more of an adult than you are,” the woman said, adding she hopes the coming years in jail are difficult for him.
Superior Court Judge James Gavin Reardon Jr. told the woman he intends to sentence Boddie to eight to 10 years in prison next week.
“Nothing can make up for what he did, but it’s a significant sentence,” he said.
In 2009, Boddie was convicted of manslaughter in the Nov. 5, 2007, death of his 3-month-old son and was sentenced to 12 to 14 years’ imprisonment. He was also found guilty of assault and battery on a child causing injury and was placed on probation for 10 years, to begin upon his release from custody.
There was testimony during the 2009 Worcester Superior Court trial that Boddie’s son’s injuries were consistent with having been struck or shaken.
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