Former Stoneham firefighter convicted after 12 years on the run
Published on August 19th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - After twelve years on the run, one former Stoneham firefighter was given a hard dose of reality- courtesy of a 10 year prison sentence.
George C. Sowyrda, 58, plead guilty to the 1985 rape of an 8-year-old Melrose girl and, about a month after his 1986 trial, had fled the state and gone into hiding. He was able to elude police for about 10 years before an anonymous caller tipped police to his home in Florida.
Sowyrda was arrested at his Clearwater, Florida home and was brought back to Massachusetts, finally facing his long overdue sentencing hearing last Thursday.
Also long overdue was the opportunity for the victim, now 21, to face her tormenter and share with him the emotions which he put her through for the past 13 years.
"I have a hard time understanding how he could destroy me for his sick, selfish sexual pleasure," she told Superior Court Judge Charles Barrett. "I changed schools, I moved to Florida, but I still couldn't escape him."
She told the court that, with the man's sentencing, "My never-ending nightmare is finally ending."
Sowyrda was a member of the Stoneham Fire Department from 1973 to 1981 and, at the time of the 1985 rape, he was residing in Wakefield. Fire Chief Lawrence Lamey, who came on board just last year, told the Independent back in April that, according to fellow firefighters, the convicted rapist showed no signs of his future sexual deviance.
Barrett ruled that he would serve a ten year sentence and must attend a treatment program for sex offenders. He is also forbidden to contact the victim or her family and will be supervised when in contact with persons under the age of 18.
The victim told the Boston Globe that she was disappointed in the sentence, saying that a 13 year jail stay would be more appropriate since, for nearly 13 years, she had waited for justice.
In 1986, following his conviction, Sowyrda fled the state while out on bail. According to Melrose police reports, he first went to Maine where he defaulted on a drunken driving charge and then moved to Florida.
Police were unable to track the man down until the Melrose Police Department received an anonymous call telling them that Sowyrda was residing in Clearwater.
The Tampa-St. Petersburg Violent Task Force was notified of the man's criminal past and also was told of his identity as George Seaver. He was arrested and extradited to Massachusetts on April 3.
According to defense attorney Arthur Kelly, his client was dating the victim's mother at the time of the rape. The mother began testifying on Thursday, but quickly broke into tears and was unable to finish her testimony.
The mother and her family relocated to Florida in past years, an ironic twist to the story, given the final destination of Sowyrda's journey.
"I have overcome much of this experience," the victim said, "but healing is a never-ending process. The scars will always be there."
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