After just over two hours of deliberations Thursday, a jury found a Bow man guilty of sexually assaulting a boy on his family farm years ago.
Patrick “Rick” Nylen, 51, was convicted of one count of felonious sexual assault and two counts of misdemeanor sexual assault for molesting a 12-year-old boy who worked on the Robinson Road farm between 2010 and 2011.
Nylen, who will be sentenced at a later date, faces 3½ to seven years in prison on the felony charge, in addition to one year in jail on each of the two misdemeanor charges.
A jury of eight men and four women delivered their verdict following a two-day trial in Merrimack County Superior Court in Concord. Jurors began their deliberations Thursday at about 10:30 a.m. and returned with a verdict shortly after 1 p.m.
The trial is the first for Nylen who also faces three felony counts of indecent exposure involving a different victim under the age of 16. Rather than have one jury hear from both victims, attorneys agreed in January to split the six charges into two trials. The second trial on the indecent exposure charges has not yet been scheduled, but will also take place in Concord.
When reached by phone Thursday afternoon, defense attorney Jared Bedrick declined to comment on the verdict because all charges have not yet been resolved.
During the trial, jurors heard from several witnesses, including the victim, his father, another boy who worked on the farm and law enforcement officers. The victim, now 22 years old, was the state’s first witness after opening statements.
He recalled how he started working on the Nylen family farm in 2010 to earn some cash. However, he told jurors that he quickly became uncomfortable around Nylen who made sexually suggestive comments.
“At first I was uncomfortable, and when it started to escalate into what it became, I was afraid to talk at all for fear of what people would think of me,” the victim told jurors.
Eight years after the abuse, the man first disclosed to his girlfriend by phone during a break up while he was living out of state and she was still in New Hampshire.
He said he was going through a difficult period in his life and was haunted by the memories more than ever. He said he had considered self-harm and wanted to share that with his girlfriend.
After his girlfriend found out, she called the man’s brother, and then the brothers both spoke to their father, who notified authorities.
The ensuing police investigation led to Nylen’s arrest in summer 2018.
The victim testified Tuesday that Nylen touched him inappropriately on several occasions. He also said Nylen showed him pornographic films and magazines, with the expectation that he masturbate in Nylen’s presence.
On the witness stand, the victim recalled one specific ride he took with Nylen. They were headed to Nylen’s house on Dow Road, where Nylen expected the boy to masturbate on the living room sofa while adult films played on the television.
“I was very uncomfortable in the truck,” the victim said of that day years ago. “I had tried to voice how I was uncomfortable with the situation and how I didn’t want to do it, and Rick had told me that it’s okay and that everyone is a little bit gay and it’s normal to do.”
He said he felt “violated” and “scared” but that he didn’t know what to do and was too ashamed to ask for help.
In addition to working on his family’s farm, Nylen was employed with Bow’s public works department for more than a decade.