Pittsfield Teen Accused Of Rape Found Guilty

Some late-breaking news. The Berkshire District Attorney's Office has obtained a guilty verdict in a violent rape case.

According to a media statement from the Berkshire DA's Office, the jury found Dylan Welch, 17, of Pittsfield guilty on single counts of aggravated rape of a child with force and attempted extortion. The jury found Welch not guilty of assault with intent to rape.

Back on October 14, 2019, Welch raped a 14-year-old girl in a wooded area in Pittsfield and caused the victim to suffer significant bodily injury. The Pittsfield Police investigated the crime.

Get our free mobile app

The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office indicted and prosecuted Welch as a youthful offender because of the seriousness of the case. The trial began on June 14, and the jury decided on June 24.

Judge Joan McMenemy presided over the trial. The court will sentence Welch at a later date. Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington offered up these words:

I am proud of my team's work on this case to hold this defendant accountable for the physical and mental harm he caused a young woman. The victim showed incredible bravery throughout the life of this case, and it means so much to my office that we were able to secure a guilty verdict on her behalf. The victim had to wait a long time for justice because of the COVID pandemic. I thank the court for their work to safely resume jury trials, restoring the cornerstone of our justice system, and we look forward to continuing the pursuit of justice for victims.

The trial is the second in Berkshire County since the court closures during the COVID pandemic. The Trial Court leased space at the Holiday Inn in Pittsfield to accommodate 12-person juries. The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office is prepared to try cases as the court schedules.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

LOOK: Here are the 50 best beach towns in America

Every beach town has its share of pluses and minuses, which got us thinking about what makes a beach town the best one to live in. To find out, Stacker consulted data from WalletHub, released June 17, 2020, that compares U.S. beach towns. Ratings are based on six categories: affordability, weather, safety, economy, education and health, and quality of life. The cities ranged in population from 10,000 to 150,000, but they had to have at least one local beach listed on TripAdvisor. Read the full methodology here. From those rankings, we selected the top 50. Readers who live in California and Florida will be unsurprised to learn that many of towns featured here are in one of those two states.

Keep reading to see if your favorite beach town made the cut.