MANCHESTER, NH – A city man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he was sentenced to serve 162-324 years for his sexual crimes.
The Manchester Police Department’s Juvenile Unit, in conjunction with the Hillsborough County Attorney’s Office, completed a sexual assault investigation against the accused, Paul Stratton, 69, of Manchester, which began in May of 2017.
Three victims were able to provide statements and/or testify about the heinous acts committed by Stratton. Investigation by the Manchester Police Department revealed Stratton abused multiple members of his family, beginning in 1968, resulting in one death by suicide and one death by opiate overdose.
Stratton was sentenced to serve 162-324 years for the acts committed against three male relatives between 2003 and 2017. Stratton began abusing one of the victims at the age of 5. The other two victims were under the age of 13 when the sexual assaults began, which continued for well over a decade. Judge Kenneth Brown remarked on the strength and courage of all three victims in coming forward to testify against Stratton. He cited their compelling testimony as the basis for his sentence.
A jury returned a unanimous verdict in the County of Hillsborough on August 8, 2018 on 15 charges; five counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, six counts felonious sexual assault, two charges of incest and two charges of endangering the welfare of a child on crimes occurring between 2003 and 2017.
MPD’s Detective Brian Attardo, and Hillsborough County, Assistant County Attorney Sarah E. Warecki worked on the case.
