Pittsfield Man Pleads Guilty to 6 Counts of Raping a Child

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On Monday, Nov. 20 Dean Giftos, age 48 of Pittsfield, pled guilty to 2 counts of Rape of a Child with Force and 4 counts of Rape of a Child, Aggravated by Age Difference.
 
Judge Agostini sentenced Giftos to 7 to 10 years in prison for the Rape with Force charges and 3 years' probation from and after for the Aggravated Rape charges.  During his probation, Giftos must have no contact with the victim, have no unsupervised contact with minors, and he must attend sex offender treatment.  Should he violate his probation, he is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. 
 
According to a report from the district attorney's office, Giftos sexually assaulted a child for a period spanning approximately nine to ten years. The two charges (Rape of a Child, Aggravated by Age Difference and Rape of a Child with Force) are due to the age of the child during the time of the assaults. The aggravated charges stem from sexual assaults that took place before the child turned 12. The investigation began when the defendant made a confession without a prior investigation.  During an investigation prompted by Giftos' confession, he made a similar confession to a Pittsfield Police Department detective.
 
The victim submitted a victim impact statement which was read prior to sentencing.  The victim is satisfied with the result of the case.
 
Assistant District Attorney Andrew Giarolo represented the Commonwealth. Victim Witness Advocates Carmen Guevara and Ian Benoit served on behalf of the District Attorney's Office. The Pittsfield Police Department acted as the lead law enforcement agency.
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Teacher of the Month: Cindy Chevett

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Cindy Chevett has been with Head Start her entire career. She says teaching is challenging but also very rewarding. 
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Head Start preschool teacher Cindy Chevett has been selected as the August Teacher of the Month. 
 
The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will run for the next nine months and will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here
 
To Chevett, the best part of being a teacher is seeing her students achieve even just the little things, such as writing the letter E or their name. 
 
"It is the best job ever," she says with a smile and tears in her eyes as she says, "I love seeing them achieve."  
 
She said although teaching can be challenging, the classroom environment is very fun and the job is very rewarding. 
 
"There's children that come in and can't really speak so that you can understand them, and modeling, and when they leave the classroom, you can understand them. That was one of my best achievements with the child," Chevett said. 
 
In Chevett's classroom, the students take control of their learning, instilling in them a love of learning. 
 
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