Man sentenced for assaulting family of Jeremiah Oliver

WORCESTER, Mass. — The boyfriend of the woman whose child was found on the side of the road in a suitcase was dismissed of all charges related to the child's death Tuesday.

Alberto Sierra pleaded guilty to seven charges related to incidents with his girlfriend, Elsa Oliver, and two of her three children. None of those charges are related to Jeremiah Oliver.

The District Attorney filed a nolle prosequi Tuesday on the five counts he was facing related to Jeremiah Oliver. He was charged with including kidnapping of a child under 16, assault and battery on a child with bodily injury, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, permitting assault and battery of a child with bodily injury and reckless endangerment of a child. A noelle prosqeui is a formal notice of abandonment by the prosecutor, which is a dismissal of the charges.

According to the Worcester Telegram, the charges were dismissed to ensure there is no double jeopardy and cited the ongoing investigation.

The district attorney says now the charges have been dropped the investigation into Jeremiah's death can continue.

Jeremiah, who was 5 at the time of his death, was reported missing in late 2013. His remains were found on April 18, 2014 in a suitcase off I-190 in Sterling. His death has been ruled a homicide. 

Jeremiah's death led to intense scrutiny on the Department of Children and Families; a case worker has been assigned to the Oliver family and the worker hadn't noticed Jeremiah was missing for several months. 

Sierra pleaded guilty to three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault and battery and two counts of reckless endangerment of a child. He was sentenced to six to seven years in state prison with three years of probation.

Jeremiah's mother, Elsa, is still facing charges. She was originally charged with kidnapping and assault and battery on a child with a dangerous weapon among other charges.

Cox Media Group