Victim-centered prosecution of crimes against children
Under her leadership as Middlesex District Attorney, the office's Child Abuse Prosecution Unit continued to serve as a national model for victim-centered prosecution of crimes against children. Coakley was also responsible for extending that model to
sexual crimes against adults, establishing the office's Adult Sexual Assault Division in 2002. During her tenure as District Attorney, Coakley oversaw the successful prosecution of a number of high profile crimes, including the cases of several
Catholic priests charged with sexually abusing children, the conviction of Michael McDermott on seven counts of first degree murder in connection with the workplace massacre at
Edgewater Technologies in Wakefield, and the successful prosecution of Thomas Junta, the Reading father who fatally beat another parent at a youth hockey practice.
Attorney General Coakley's Office has reached an agreement with a Domino's Pizza franchise in Framingham to settle allegations of child labor violations. Domino's agreed to pay $15,000 in penalties primarily for employing minors beyond permitted work
hours and maximum daily hours.
An investigation revealed that on 66 occasions between April 2007 and June 2008, the restaurant employed 15-year-old workers beyond 7 PM on a school night, the latest permissible hour for a 15-year-old to work during
the school year. The investigation also revealed that a 15-year-old worked more than eight hours in a day in violation of the maximum hours permitted for 15-year-olds.
The Massachusetts Child Labor laws include restrictions on both the occupations in
which minors may be employed, as well as the hours during which they may work. The law also requires employers to ensure that teens have proper work permits prior to beginning work, and that employers post all minors' work schedules in the workplace.
Source: Press release on Attorney General website, www.mass.gov
Sep 17, 2008
