A 19-year-old Easton man has been arraigned on a single count of child rape stemming from an alleged incident that occurred during a summer camp program held on the Stonehill College campus. James Cremins was arrested on Aug. 7 on a warrant out of Taunton District Court and is accused of raping a child during the camp session.
Cremins was formally arraigned in Taunton District Court on Aug. 29, according to Mass Daily News. Prosecutors from the Bristol County District Attorney's Office have joined the Easton Police Department in the ongoing investigation, per the same account. The NBC Boston report that first identified Cremins notes the investigation remains ongoing and that he is no longer employed by College Gate, the organization that ran the camp.
Camp Operator Rented Space, Was Not Run by Stonehill
College Gate is a 48-year-old family-run organization based in Easton that offers K-8 STEM and summer enrichment programs, operated by directors Chris and Lisa Harrington, according to the Mass Daily News report. The camp rented facility space on the Stonehill College campus earlier this summer, per NBC Boston, and offers programming for students ages 6 to 15. Stonehill College said it was not involved in the operation of the camp and that no college employees were involved in the alleged incident, according to Boston 25 News.
Stonehill officials said the college was aware of reports of an alleged incident involving College Gate, per NBC Boston. Stonehill is a private Catholic liberal arts institution founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross, sitting on a 387-acre campus in North Easton with roughly 2,500 undergraduate students, according to the school's own materials.
Directors Say Background Checks Were Completed
Harrington and Harrington confirmed they were aware of the allegations and stated that Cremins passed both Criminal Offender Record Information and Sex Offender Registry Information background checks before being hired for the summer program, Boston 25 News reports. College Gate staff undergo annual CORI and SORI background checks as part of standard practice, per NBC Boston.
Those checks are not merely a company policy — they are required under Massachusetts Department of Public Health regulations. Under 105 CMR 430.000, licensed recreational camps for children must conduct annual CORI and SORI checks, verify five-year employment histories, and review three positive references for staff and volunteers before allowing unsupervised contact with campers, according to a Massachusetts government policy statement. Those state-mandated screenings check for existing criminal or sex-offender records but cannot detect conduct that was never formally reported or recorded.
Case Now Moves Through Bristol County Courts
Cremins was charged with rape of a child, and the case is now proceeding through the Bristol County court system after his arraignment. Taunton District Court serves as the primary venue for initial arraignments, bail hearings, and preliminary proceedings for offenses occurring in Easton and northern Bristol County, per the Mass Daily News report. Investigations involving severe child abuse or sexual assault charges in the county are routinely coordinated between municipal police departments and specialized prosecutors within the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, the outlet notes.
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265, Section 22A, a conviction for rape of a child carries a potential statutory penalty of life imprisonment or any term of years in state prison, along with mandatory sex offender registration, according to legal resources cited in the case's reporting. Cremins has been charged but not convicted, and the allegations against him remain the subject of an active investigation by Easton police and county prosecutors.
