Matthew Mancuso
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| Matthew Mancuso | |
| Born | July 29, 1959 Detroit, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Residence | Devens Federal Medical Center |
| Known for | Convicted child rapist |
| Occupation | Retired engineer |
| Children | Rachelle Mancuso Masha Allen (adopted) |
Matthew Mancuso (born July 29, 1959), is a retired engineer from Plum, Pennsylvania. Mancuso is currently incarcerated in Devens Federal Medical Center in Massachusetts for multiple charges of child sexual abuse.
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[edit] Masha
In 1998, Mancuso adopted five year-old Masha from Novoshakhtinsk, Russia — having specifically requested a blonde-haired and blue-eyed girl for adoption. After retrieving his adopted daughter from Russia, he began immediately to abuse her; as he had not prepared a bedroom for Masha, their first night at home together he had her sleep naked with him.[1]
In May of 2003, Federal agents from the Crimes Against Children Task Force raided Mancuso's house during a child pornography investigation. They found Masha Allen, his adopted daughter, living in the home. He adopted her from Russia, specifically requesting that she be blond-haired and blue-eyed, when she was five years old, in 1998. He abused her sexually and took sexually explicit photographs of her during visits to Disney World, and later posted them on the Internet.
[edit] Previous molestation
In the wake of Allen being found and identified, it emerged that the adoption agency had never contacted his wife or daughter from his first marriage. Mancuso had molested his daughter, Rachelle, until she reached the age of 16. She had little contact with him since then, and had never told anyone about the abuse. During a January 17, 2006 airing of The Oprah Winfrey Show she met Masha in person and expressed her sorrow at not having had the courage to speak up and possibly prevent the abuse.
[edit] Sentencing
On August 23, 2003 Mancuso was found guilty of eleven sexual abuse-related charges in a non-jury trial in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, and sentenced to serve fifteen years. He offered no defense and did not contest the charges. In Pennsylvania, by offering no defense, he preserves his right to appeal the prosecution later. His lawyer, Stanley Greenfield, said he planned to do exactly that since it had been more than a year since Mancuso had initially been arrested, violating his right to a speedy trial.
On November 17, 2004 he was sentenced to 35 to 70 years, which will only begin once he has completed his first sentence. Florida prosecutors may pursue prosecution on additional charges, as he took many of his photographs in that state.
The consecutive sentences make it likely that he will spend the rest of his life incarcerated.
[edit] Possible rehabilitation
| “ | I was really upset that he didn’t receive a harder sentence. I was even more upset that he was sent to a hospital in Massachusetts so he could be rehabilitated. A person like Matthew can never be rehabilitated. Plus in this hospital prison he has free health care, free mental health services and he can read magazines, play ping-pong and have hobbies. | ” |
In testimony before Congress and on Nancy Grace's talk show, Masha has expressed her displeasure that Mancuso is currently being held at Devens, which she said was extremely comfortable, in an attempt to rehabilitate him. She did not think that was likely to occur and said he should be serving his sentence in a regular prison.
[edit] References
- ^ McKinnon, Jim (2005-08-24). Plum man guilty of abusing adoptee (English). post-gazette.com. PG Publishing Co., Inc.. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
