Worcester man, 63, charged with raping child in Milford church basement

Milford police have charged a 63-year-old Worcester man with raping a child under 14 in the basement of the victim’s family church in Milford, according to a Milford Police Department statement released Monday, Oct. 26.

Raul Feliciano faces charges of rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. He posted $15,000 bail Friday, Oct. 23, and will face arraignment this week, police said.

The department’s Family Services Unit opened the investigation Wednesday, Sept. 9. The child, who was under 14 at the time, told detectives that the suspect lured the child into the basement of the family’s church, where the assault took place, according to police. The department did not name the church.

Family Services detectives obtained a warrant for Feliciano’s arrest at about 9 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23. Worcester police took him into custody at about 1:15 p.m. that day and turned him over to Milford police for booking.

“To violate a child is among the most heinous of crimes. Doing so in place of worship only further cements the depravity of this assault,” Milford Police Chief Robert Tusino said in the statement.

The statement also credited detectives and officers from the Milford and Worcester police departments, along with the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, for bringing Feliciano into custody.

Under state law, rape and abuse of a child under 16 carries a maximum sentence of life in state prison. A conviction for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 carries up to 10 years in state prison or up to 2½ years in a house of correction.

The police statement notes that all suspects remain innocent until proven guilty in court.

Survivors of sexual assault can find help through the state’s list of statewide resources or the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

Former Worcester County jail officer accused of smuggling Suboxone to inmate

A former Worcester County jail officer pleaded not guilty Friday, Oct. 16, to charges that he took $1,500 to carry Suboxone strips into the jail and hand them to an inmate.

Nevin D. Robles, 32, faces charges of conspiring to violate drug law, possession of a Class B substance and delivering drugs to a prisoner, according to Clinton District Court records. A judge released him on $1,000 cash bail, and he is due back in court Dec. 17.

Robles also faces a charge of improperly storing his gun. Sheriff’s investigators found his registered Glock 19 loaded in his unlocked car while executing a search warrant in the drug investigation, the office said.

Robles had worked for the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office since 2018. The office placed him on leave Sept. 13, and he resigned the next day, Superintendent Jason Rives said. His lawyer declined to comment.

Detective John Sables wrote in court documents that security video from about 5:47 a.m. Aug. 31 shows Robles “discreetly” passing an item in a jail hallway to inmate Juan Centeno-Natal. Centeno-Natal, 48, was delivering meals at the time, The Boston Globe reported.

Sables wrote that an interview with a “reliable source” turned up a blue rubber glove holding 25 Suboxone strips, which he tied to Centeno-Natal.

After waiving his Miranda rights, Robles told investigators he agreed to bring in drugs after the inmate asked him repeatedly, Sables wrote. Robles said he met a man, Mark Domenici, in Worcester’s Webster Square to pick up a “package.”

Robles first said he did not know what the package held, then said it was “probably subs,” shorthand for Suboxone, according to the detective. Robles said he carried it into the jail in the back pocket of his uniform pants.

Robles told Sables he expected $1,500 for the delivery, with Domenici collecting the same amount.

Rives said his office learned of the alleged smuggling weeks after it happened and confirmed it through video surveillance.

“After conducting a thorough investigation that included video and electronic surveillance, we believe [Robles] … betrayed the trust of his community and the Sheriff’s Office by introducing an illicit substance (Suboxone) into our facility,” Rives said in a statement.

Domenici, 50, faces charges of possession of a Class B drug with intent to distribute and conspiracy to violate drug law. His arraignment is set for Nov. 3. Investigators sought a warrant for his arrest in September after they could not locate him, according to the Globe.

Centeno-Natal faced internal sanctions, the sheriff’s office said. He has not been charged.

Suboxone combines buprenorphine and naloxone and treats opioid dependence, according to its federal drug label. Rives told the Telegram & Gazette that the drug carries “high illicit market value” behind bars because users seek its drowsy effects and its protection against fatal overdose.

WCVB-TV reported in 2016 that a single strip could sell for up to $100 inside a jail. A New Hampshire prison official put the figure as high as $400 in 2019.

Rives said jails face a constant challenge keeping contraband out and that the Worcester County facility “remains vigilant in identifying potential threats and taking swift action to protect the safety and security of our facility.”

Image courtesy of the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office/ Facebook

Worcester 911 chief Charles Goodwin on leave after OUI arrest

Worcester’s emergency communications commissioner, Charles Goodwin, is on administrative leave after state police arrested him on a drunken driving charge Friday, Oct. 23, while he drove a city-issued cruiser.

City spokesperson Tom Matthews confirmed the arrest and Goodwin’s leave Monday, Oct. 26, according to the Telegram & Gazette. Matthews said city officials learned of the arrest that evening and immediately placed Goodwin on leave. A deputy from the department will fill in during his absence.

“The municipality is investigating the matter and has no further comment at this time,” the city said in a statement.

Goodwin pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment the same day in Westborough District Court, and a judge released him on personal recognizance. He faces charges of operating under the influence, a marked lanes violation, possessing an open container of alcohol and following too closely.

State police received a tip about a truck swerving on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Westborough before they located the vehicle around 1 p.m., according to court documents cited by the Telegram & Gazette. Trooper Jared Layman wrote in his report that Goodwin nearly struck a guardrail as he pulled over.

Goodwin told the trooper he was “currently working” and headed to Worcester from Springfield, according to the report. Layman wrote that he smelled alcohol and that Goodwin’s speech sounded slurred and labored. Goodwin failed two field sobriety tests before the trooper arrested him.

Layman found eight small liquor bottles, commonly called nips, in the cruiser. Four of them were empty, he wrote. Goodwin did not have his firearm with him.

Goodwin’s attorney, Fernando Figueroa, could not immediately be reached for comment, the newspaper reported. Goodwin did not immediately respond to the Telegram & Gazette’s request for comment.

Goodwin has led the department since July 2021. He earned $155,798 in gross pay in 2025, according to city payroll records.

The department answers the city’s 911 and 311 calls from the Worcester Regional Emergency Communication Center on Coppage Drive and leads Worcester’s emergency management program. The city’s website still lists Goodwin as commissioner.

Healey sets 60% school breakfast goal; Worcester schools averaged 37.6%

Gov. Maura Healey launched a statewide challenge Friday, Oct. 23, that asks Massachusetts schools to get at least 60% of students eating breakfast at school each day.

Worcester Public Schools has ground to make up. The district averaged 37.6% daily breakfast participation in March 2025, compared with 65% for lunch, according to school-by-school meal participation figures the Eos Foundation calculated from attendance data districts report to the state. Eos is one of three nonprofits partnering with the state on the challenge.

Statewide, an average of 291,792 students ate school breakfast each day in fall 2025, while 588,654 ate school lunch, the governor’s office said in announcing the Strengthening School Breakfast Challenge.

The challenge encourages schools to serve breakfast at main entrances and give students a second chance to eat later in the morning. The state also wants schools to promote those options to families. On the menu side, Healey asked schools to add more locally grown food and scratch cooking, with menus shaped by student feedback.

“We made school meals free for every student in Massachusetts because no child should have to worry about being hungry in the classroom,” Healey said.

Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said many students still skip the meal. “We know that students learn better when they start the day with a nutritious breakfast, but too many kids are still missing out on this important meal,” she said.

Wide gaps across Worcester schools

Breakfast rates varied sharply among Worcester schools in the Eos data. Greendale Head Start reported 83.4% participation, and Belmont Street Community School reported 63.1%. At West Tatnuck School and Flagg Street School, about 8% of students ate breakfast.

Participation at the city’s four comprehensive high schools ranged from 17.8% at Doherty Memorial and Burncoat Senior High to 23% at South High Community School.

Eos estimated that if every Worcester school reached 80% breakfast participation, 10,934 more students would eat breakfast each day, and the district would draw about $5.6 million more in meal reimbursements.

Worcester Public Schools offers breakfast and lunch at no cost to every student through the federal Community Eligibility Provision, according to the district.

What state law requires

Under Chapter 69, Section 1C of the Massachusetts General Laws, every school that serves lunch through the National School Lunch Program must also serve breakfast at no charge. Schools where at least 60% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals must offer breakfast after the instructional day begins.

Those schools may choose their own approach, such as breakfast in the classroom or grab-and-go service. The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education notifies schools each year if the after-the-bell rule applies to them.

The challenge advances recommendations from Healey’s Anti-Hunger Task Force.

Help for schools

The Eos Foundation offers grants of up to $20,000 per school, plus technical assistance, to launch or expand Breakfast in the Classroom programs. The foundation aims for those programs to reach at least 80% of students each morning.

Project Bread provides free technical assistance and outreach materials to school meal providers. New England Dairy offers breakfast recipes and promotion toolkits along with funding opportunities.

In Salem, where Healey announced the challenge, one elementary school raised breakfast participation from 42% to 90% after moving breakfast into classrooms, Salem Superintendent Tommy Welch said in a statement.

The fiscal 2027 state budget Healey signed includes $338 million for anti-hunger and nutrition programs, according to her office.

Health Connector opens 2027 enrollment; Dec. 23 deadline for Jan. 1 coverage

Worcester-area residents who buy health insurance through the Massachusetts Health Connector can now shop for 2027 plans and have until Dec. 23 to sign up for coverage that starts Jan. 1, 2027.

Open enrollment began Friday, Oct. 23, and runs through Jan. 23, 2027. People who enroll after Dec. 23 but by the final deadline will have coverage starting Feb. 1, 2027, according to the governor’s office.

Gov. Maura Healey launched the enrollment period at an event in Roxbury, where she announced the state will spend $620 million on the ConnectorCare program in 2027. The money aims to hold down premiums after federal enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act expired at the end of 2025. Healey blamed President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for letting the credits lapse.

“So whether you’re signing up for the first time or renewing your coverage, check out the Health Connector, explore your options and see what financial assistance is available,” Healey said. “We’re here to help you get covered at a price you can afford.”

Massachusetts added $250 million to ConnectorCare last year, bringing its 2026 total to $600 million. The administration called the 2027 commitment the largest state investment of its kind in the country. The governor’s office said the money, drawn from the Commonwealth Care Trust Fund, will keep premium increases small or nonexistent for about 279,000 ConnectorCare members. ConnectorCare plans carry lower co-pays and no deductibles.

Changes for 2027

Fallon Health will stop offering Health Connector plans in parts of Worcester County next year, along with several other counties, according to the Health Connector’s 2027 updates page. Members whose Fallon plan disappears will move automatically into the lowest-cost plan at the same level in their area unless they choose a different one.

New federal rules taking effect Jan. 1, 2027, also narrow who qualifies for financial help. Lawfully present immigrants may still buy plans, but federal tax credits and ConnectorCare will go only to lawful permanent residents and two smaller groups: Cuban and Haitian entrants and Compact of Free Association migrants. Refugees and people with Temporary Protected Status are among those who will lose the subsidies. The Health Connector estimates about 35,000 current enrollees may lose help paying for coverage.

Federal law also removed the cap on how much excess tax credit enrollees must repay at tax time, starting with 2026 taxes. The Health Connector urges members to update household and income details whenever they change and will host a free webinar on tax credit changes Wednesday, Oct. 28, from noon to 1 p.m.

“Whether enrolling for the first time or reviewing an existing plan, we are here to help residents make informed decisions about their coverage,” said Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Health Connector.

Where to get help in Worcester

The Health Connector has closed its walk-in centers and now directs residents to Navigators, trained enrollment helpers who work at 50 locations statewide and offer free assistance in 29 languages. The city’s Health and Human Services Department lists these local options:

• Family Health Center of Worcester, 26 Queen St., 508-860-7700. Accepts walk-ins six days a week.
• Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center, 605 Lincoln St., 508-595-0726. Appointments required.
• Worcester RISE for Health, 18 Chestnut St., 774-417-1756. Focuses on recently arrived refugees and immigrants and accepts walk-ins four days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• UMass Memorial Health financial counseling, 508-334-9300.

Residents can also search online for a Navigator near them. To compare plans and enroll, visit MAhealthconnector.org or call 1-877-MA-ENROLL (1-877-623-6765) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. TTY users can dial 711.

Worcester to host first Homeowner Summit Nov. 7 at DCU Center

Worcester will hold its first Homeowner Summit from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at the DCU Center, with free sessions for current homeowners and people looking to buy in the city.

Keynote speakers and breakout sessions anchor the day. Attendees can also meet staff from city departments and local housing organizations.

The city patterned the event on its annual Landlord Summit, which most recently took place at the DCU Center in January. Sessions will run on two tracks, one for prospective buyers and one for current homeowners, according to the city’s event listing.

Breakout topics include:

• First-time homebuyer education
• First-time homebuyer programs with down payment assistance
• Homeownership 101
• City of Worcester housing rehabilitation grant programs
• Permitting ADUs: How to get started with accessory dwelling units
• Wetlands and floodplains: What homeowners need to know
• Recording deeds 101
• Owning a historic property
• Energy efficiency
• Meetings with city departments for department-specific questions

Buyers can learn about local and state help with down payments. The city’s Down Payment Assistance Program gives income-eligible first-time homebuyers up to $5,000 toward a down payment and closing costs, using federal Community Development Block Grant money. Applicants must complete an approved first-time homebuyer course, according to a city program overview.

Current owners can ask about repair grants. The Elder Home Repair Program provides income-eligible seniors up to $25,000 per unit for major work such as roofs and heating systems. The city’s Worcester Housing Now program helps owners who live in two- to four-unit buildings, such as triple-deckers, fix up their properties.

Admission is free, but attendees must register online. The DCU Center sits at 50 Foster St. Attendees should enter through Door 2 and take the escalator to the third floor.

Worcester police seize ghost gun frames, 3D printer in gun trafficking arrest

Worcester police arrested a city man on a firearms trafficking charge after a monthslong investigation that turned up more than 38 guns and 3D-printed ghost gun frames, the department said in a press release Friday, Oct. 23.

The department’s SWAT team made the arrest. Police did not release the man’s name or age or say when the arrest took place.

Investigators also seized a 3D printer that police said the man used to make and traffic guns, along with two silencers, six high-capacity feeding devices and ammunition.

The department’s Crime Gun Intelligence Unit led the case. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and gang units from the Worcester Police Department and Massachusetts State Police assisted.

The ATF classifies ghost guns as privately made firearms, which lack serial numbers and cannot be traced by the agency when someone uses one in a crime.

What the law says

Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 269, Section 10E covers anyone who knowingly distributes, sells or transfers firearms outside what the law allows, whether in a single transaction or a series of transactions within 12 months. The penalty scales with the number of guns involved:

• One or two firearms: up to 10 years in state prison, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.
• Three to nine firearms: up to 20 years in state prison, with a mandatory minimum of five years and a possible fine of up to $100,000.
• Ten or more firearms: up to life in state prison, with a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a possible fine of up to $150,000.

The number of guns seized does not decide which range applies. That turns on how many firearms prosecutors allege the man distributed, sold or transferred, a figure the release does not include.

The statute bars courts from continuing a trafficking case without a finding or placing it on file. A person convicted under the law cannot receive probation, parole, furlough, work release or good-conduct sentence reductions until serving the mandatory minimum. Fines under the second and third tiers come on top of prison time and cannot replace it.

The man faces an accusation, and the law presumes him innocent unless a court finds him guilty.

Worcester police, DEA find fentanyl in Clover Street raid

Worcester police vice detectives helped federal drug agents raid a Clover Street apartment Wednesday, Oct. 21, where they found about 3 kilograms of fentanyl packaged for sale, according to a Worcester Police Department release.

Junior Tejada Hernandez, 28, faces a federal charge of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. We first reported the federal charge Thursday, Oct. 22, after the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts announced the arrest.

Vice detectives and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents reached the apartment at 115 Clover St. around 5:40 p.m. to serve a federal search warrant, police said. The warrant followed an investigation into fentanyl sales from the address.

When no one answered their knock and announcement, detectives forced their way in. They found Tejada Hernandez in a bedroom.

A search of the apartment turned up the fentanyl along with drug packaging and processing materials, police said. Tejada Hernandez went directly from the scene into federal custody.

Federal charging documents put the amount at more than 3 kilograms and say investigators recovered it from the bedroom of the one-bedroom apartment, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A suitcase in the bedroom closet held cutting agents, baggies, a sifting device, scissors and a blender used to mix controlled substances with dilutants, the documents state.

Prosecutors said Tejada Hernandez would make an initial appearance Thursday, Oct. 22, in federal court in Worcester. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Stendig of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

Police departments from Worcester, Leominster, Fitchburg, Clinton, Gardner, Lunenburg and Webster, along with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, assisted in the investigation. Prosecutors listed the case under the Homeland Security Task Force, a federal initiative aimed at cartels and transnational criminal groups.

What the law says

The charge falls under 21 U.S.C. 841, the federal law that bars possessing controlled substances with intent to distribute them. It carries up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The same law sets a separate penalty of 10 years to life in prison for cases involving 400 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl.

Editor’s note: This report draws on releases from the Worcester Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice. The claims within are allegations, which the accused may challenge in court.

Worcester man convicted of first-degree murder in 2022 Paxton killing

A Worcester County Superior Court jury convicted Christopher Fuller, 34, of Worcester, of first-degree murder Thursday, Oct. 22, in the 2022 shooting death of Ernest Appiah, 29, also of Worcester.

The conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Fuller will face sentencing Tuesday, Oct. 27, in Worcester County Superior Court.

Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. announced the verdict Friday, Oct. 23.

Body found off Asnebumskit Road

Paxton police found Appiah’s body in the woods near Asnebumskit Road on March 5, 2022, after a passerby reported it.

The state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. Investigators determined that Fuller shot Appiah on Feb. 28, 2022, after the two men left Centerfolds, an adult entertainment club in Worcester, together.

Case history

Prosecutors first charged Fuller in East Brookfield District Court, where he faced arraignment July 12, 2022. A Worcester County grand jury indicted him Dec. 21, 2022, sending the case to Superior Court.

Fuller has remained in custody since his District Court arraignment.

Assistant District Attorneys Timothy Westerman and Shayna Woodard tried the case. Victim Witness Advocate Maria Deyette worked with them.

“Assistant District Attorneys Timothy Westerman and Shayna Woodard, and Victim Witness Advocate Maria Deyette did an outstanding job on this case,” Early said.

Early also thanked the Paxton Police Department and the state police detectives assigned to his office. He also thanked the jurors for weighing the evidence carefully.

What comes next

Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 2, a person convicted of first-degree murder as an adult receives a life sentence and cannot apply for parole. The judge has no discretion over that sentence.

Any appeal of a first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts goes directly to the Supreme Judicial Court. State law governing those appeals allows the justices to review the entire case, including the evidence. The court may order a new trial or reduce the verdict to a lesser degree of guilt if it finds that justice requires it.

State Police revamp academy before new recruit class starts Oct. 26

Massachusetts State Police scrapped the drill instructor title and hired a civilian director of training at its New Braintree academy ahead of a recruit class that starts Monday, Oct. 26.

The department announced the changes Friday, Oct. 23, and said it has completed 22 of 31 priority recommendations from an independent review of the academy, with work underway on the other nine. The department originally planned to start the 93rd Recruit Training Troop in June, but Col. Geoffrey Noble, the State Police superintendent, pushed the start back in May to make time for the work.

Gov. Maura Healey directed Noble to seek an outside assessment of the academy after Trooper Enrique Delgado-Garcia died during a training exercise in September 2024. A supervisor and three full-time instructors were indicted in February in connection with Delgado Garcia’s death .

The International Association of Chiefs of Police completed its review of the academy in May and made 103 recommendations. The department had already permanently ended boxing and head-strike activities in training.

In September, the State Police hired PFM Group Consulting as an independent evaluator to monitor the reforms over five years and issue public annual reports. The firm’s team includes Seth Williams, who leads its law enforcement practice and has worked with the city of Worcester, and Ronal Serpas, a former New Orleans police superintendent.

Noble said carrying out the recommendations “requires a sustained commitment to raising standards and challenging longstanding practices.”

A new approach to instruction

About 15 sworn members will lead the 93rd class and oversee recruit development and accountability. A larger group of instructors will teach defensive tactics, emergency vehicle operation, firearms, patrol procedure and criminal law.

The department also wrote a new framework for how instructors introduce and manage stress during training, with the goal of tying stress to defined training objectives. Dr. Jennifer Prohaska, an outside medical expert in stress training, will instruct academy staff and lead a session for recruits during orientation week.

The State Police set new graduation standards under Article 11 of its rules and regulations. Recruits will receive dedicated instruction on use of force and de-escalation, along with training on electronic control weapons. They must score 100% on the related written exams to show they know department policy.

More medical oversight

The department brought in Eric Otterson, a physician assistant and Assumption University professor affiliated with UMass Memorial Health, to train instructors and recruits on recognizing and responding to concussions. Otterson spent 20 years with the Auburn Fire Department.

Experts from UMass Memorial Medical Group will analyze recruit injuries and help shape prevention strategies, and medical staff will spend more time at the academy.

The daily schedule now sets aside time for rest and personal care. Recruits will get uninterrupted mealtimes and scheduled chances to contact family members.

New academy leaders

Andrea Nardone, the academy’s new civilian director of training, most recently served as chief of training at the Massachusetts Municipal Police Training Committee, where she oversaw standards at 15 municipal police academies. She helped carry out training requirements in the state’s 2020 police reform law and previously worked as a Middlesex County assistant district attorney.

Capt. Michael Blanchette will serve as academy commandant. Blanchette, a Marine Corps veteran, began his career with the Chicopee Police Department and graduated with the State Police 76th Recruit Training Troop. He has taught at the academy since 2019 and worked as a detective lieutenant in the department’s Office of Professional Integrity and Accountability.

Dean Aresco, the new director of physical training, spent 20 years with the Connecticut State Police, including a stint as executive officer of its training academy. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in exercise physiology from the University of Connecticut.

Gina Kwon, the state’s secretary of public safety and security, said the governor’s call for an independent assessment “underscored the importance of identifying areas for improvement.”