Prosecutors said the couple abused a boy in their care for years before the case surfaced this month.
PLYMOUTH, MA — A Plymouth police officer and her husband were released on cash bail Thursday after prosecutors accused them of repeatedly sexually assaulting a boy who later became their legal ward, in a case that has shaken the South Shore town and triggered a parallel internal police investigation.
Samantha Pelrine, 31, and Daniel Forand, 37, pleaded not guilty in Plymouth District Court after their arrests earlier in the day. Pelrine, a Plymouth officer since 2022, faces three counts of aggravated rape of a child and one count of statutory rape. Forand faces 20 charges, including aggravated rape of a child, indecent assault and battery, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The case matters now because it has moved from sealed abuse-prevention filings and internal leave action into open criminal court, with prosecutors outlining years of alleged abuse and a judge setting strict conditions while the case advances.
State police arrested Pelrine and Forand at their Plymouth home at about 6 a.m. Thursday, prosecutors said, and brought them to court for arraignment later that day. Assistant District Attorney Jim Duffy said the allegations began when the accuser was a minor and continued over several years. Prosecutors told the court that an adult male went to the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Middleborough on March 15 and reported that he had first been assaulted by Forand and later by both Forand and Pelrine during repeated incidents from 2018 to 2025. The alleged victim is now 21. In court, prosecutors described the pattern as grooming. The defendants’ lawyer, Joseph Krowski, left court with the couple and declined public comment after the hearing.
Judge Kristen Stone set bail at $10,000 cash for Pelrine and $25,000 cash for Forand, far below the $250,000 cash bail prosecutors had sought for each defendant. Along with bail, the judge imposed several conditions. Both defendants were ordered not to contact or abuse the alleged victim and to remain at least 100 yards away. They also must surrender firearms, ammunition, gun licenses and firearm identification cards. Court conditions described in local reports also bar them from contact with minors, require them to stay in Massachusetts and require them to surrender their passports. Both had not guilty pleas entered at arraignment. Pelrine appeared in court in person, and television footage showed both defendants leaving the courthouse after posting bail. The charges remain allegations, and the facts will now be tested through the court process.
The criminal case follows warning signs that surfaced publicly before Thursday’s arraignment. Plymouth police said Pelrine had been placed on administrative leave on March 17 after Massachusetts State Police notified the department about an active criminal investigation into her off-duty conduct. The department said her duty status remains under review and that it has opened its own internal investigation. In a statement, the department said it was “appalled and deeply disturbed” by the allegations and said the conduct described by prosecutors violates the values officers are expected to uphold. Pelrine joined the department in April 2022, according to a department social media post highlighted in several local reports. Officials have not said whether she has had any recent police duties since being placed on leave, and they have not announced any disciplinary decision beyond the leave status and internal review.
Parts of the alleged victim’s account had already appeared in court papers tied to an abuse-prevention order filed earlier this month. In a handwritten affidavit described in news reports, the accuser wrote that Pelrine and Forand “both sexually assaulted me until 2025 and physically assaulted me until 2026,” then added that physical assault was carried out only by Forand. The same affidavit said, “They are looking for me and I am scared for my safety.” Court records described by local outlets say the alleged victim had been raised by relatives until age 12, when Pelrine and Forand took him into their Plymouth home. About a year later, they became his legal guardians. Some reports said the sexual abuse began soon after that guardianship was granted. Others said the abuse began when the accuser was 14. What is clear from the charging hearing is that prosecutors allege a long-running pattern involving a child under the couple’s care and extending into the victim’s young adulthood.
The charge list shows the different legal exposure facing each defendant. Pelrine is accused of four offenses in total, all tied to the alleged sexual abuse of a child. Forand faces a broader set of 20 charges, including 12 counts of aggravated rape of a child, six counts of indecent assault and battery, one count of assault and battery and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, according to prosecutors and court summaries. Some local reports described the charged conduct as tied to incidents in 2019 and 2020, while prosecutors also told the court that the alleged abuse stretched from 2018 to 2025. That gap may reflect the difference between the full allegation timeline and the narrower periods tied to specific criminal counts, but court officials have not yet publicly released a fuller narrative explaining each count. No probable cause affidavit laying out the state’s full evidence was publicly discussed in detail during the arraignment coverage.
The allegations have drawn intense attention in Plymouth because they involve a sworn police officer accused of abusing someone in a private caretaking role, not on duty but while holding a public position of trust. Cases involving officers often bring an added layer of scrutiny because departments are expected to police their own while maintaining public confidence in criminal investigations. Here, local officials have tried to separate the criminal prosecution from the administrative review. Massachusetts State Police handled the arrest and investigation, while the Plymouth Police Department said it is cooperating and conducting an internal review of Pelrine’s conduct and employment status. The town, about 40 miles south of Boston, is not unfamiliar with high-profile court cases, but an allegation that a local officer harmed a child under her guardianship carries special weight because it combines public authority, private access and a claim of long-term control over a vulnerable person.
For now, the criminal process is moving into its early stages. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for June 8 in Plymouth District Court. That hearing is expected to be the next major public step, unless the case is altered by indictment, additional filings or pretrial motions before then. Prosecutors have not announced whether they plan to seek further charges or move the case to a higher court. They also have not publicly described any forensic evidence, digital records, medical findings or witness testimony beyond the alleged victim’s account and the statements made at arraignment. The defense has not laid out its position in detail beyond entering not guilty pleas. It remains unknown whether either side will challenge the bail conditions before the next hearing, whether the alleged victim will seek further protective orders, or whether Pelrine’s police employment will change before the criminal case returns to court.
Outside the courthouse, the scene was brief but telling. Cameras waited as Pelrine and Forand walked out with Krowski after the arraignment, leaving without addressing shouted questions. The quiet exit contrasted with the gravity of the accusations presented inside. Prosecutors had pressed for much higher bail, arguing the seriousness of the allegations and the reported fears expressed by the accuser. The judge instead opted for release under cash bail and strict restrictions, a reminder that even in severe cases, arraignment is only the opening step. The public record now consists mostly of the charge list, bail terms, statements from prosecutors and police, and the alleged victim’s earlier affidavit. More detailed evidence, and any fuller explanation from the defense, may not emerge unless the case proceeds through hearings where investigators, records and witnesses are examined in open court.
As of Thursday evening, Pelrine and Forand were out of custody after posting bail, Pelrine remained on administrative leave from the Plymouth Police Department, and both were under court orders limiting contact and travel. The next scheduled milestone is a probable cause hearing on June 8.
Author note: Last updated March 27, 2026.