PLYMOUTH, Mass. (Court TV) — A Massachusetts police officer and her husband are facing a slew of charges after a child in their care allegedly told officers that they were sexually assaulted for years.
Daniel Forand, 37, and Samantha Pelrine, 31, are charged with rape of a child and indecent assault and battery for alleged incidents dating back to 2018. Both appeared in court for a first appearance on Thursday afternoon and pleaded not guilty.
Samantha Pelrine and Daniel Forand appeared in court on March 26, 2026. (Court TV)
Prosecutor James Duffy offered a summary of the allegations against the couple in court, saying that the two took in a 14-year-old foster child in 2018. In 2019, when the child was still 14, Duffy said that Forand began abusing the teen by performing oral sex on him and forcing the child to reciprocate.
Forand and Pelrine got married in 2019; the alleged victim told officers that shortly thereafter, Pelrine walked into the master bedroom and found Forand abusing him. Pelrine allegedly turned around, left and did not return for the rest of the day. In another incident Duffy recounted in court, Pelrine allegedly told Forand, “I don’t want to take his virginity,” to which Forand allegedly replied, “He’s already lost his virginity.”
Prosecutors described multiple alleged incidents that involved oral and vaginal sex with both defendants. The alleged victim told police that Forand initiated and directed all of the encounters until February 2020, at which point Pelrine began initiating encounters as well. Duffy said that the abuse continued until 2025.
Pelrine’s attorney, Joseph Krowski Jr., flatly denied all the allegations and said that the alleged victim in the case has a troubled past. Krowski said the child came to the couple’s home because there was “no place else for him to go” after the teen made allegations against his biological parents. “He certainly came to the home with some documented problems,” Krowski said. “He was on medication and had several diagnoses.”
Samantha Pelrine is seen in uniform with the Plymouth Police Department. (Plymouth Police Department)
Krowski suggested the alleged victim had fabricated the story, saying that when he turned 18, the alleged victim requested Forand and Pelrine adopt him. Krowski said that the problems started because the teenager began dating someone and wanted her to stay over, which Forand and Pelrine would not allow.
Pelrine works as a police officer with the Plymouth Police Department, and was featured on the department’s Facebook page for National Women’s Month in March 2023. In that post she said she always wanted to be a police officer. In a statement on Thursday, the Plymouth Police Department said it was “appalled and deeply disturbed by the allegations” and that Pelrine’s duty status is under review.
Pelrine was given a $10,000 bail and Forand was given a $25,000 bail. Both were ordered to surrender their passports and weapons, stay in the state and have no contact with the alleged victim.
The two are due back in court for a probable cause hearing on June 8.
