Former Salem Mass. EMT Pleads Guilty To First-Degree Child Assault Charges In Concord NH: Follow-Up

CONCORD, NH — A more than four-year child assault case involving a former EMT who brutally assaulted his young daughter in Concord came to an end on Monday.

David Trainor III, 36, of Salem Street in Salem, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to three first-degree assault counts and a single witness tampering count, all felonies, in Merrimack County Superior Court on Nov. 9. Originally, a jury trial was set to begin Monday in the February 2022 case. But during the weekend, the parties reached a plea deal.

On the first-degree assault charges, Trainor received a seven-and-a-half to 15-year sentence and a second five-and-a-half to 15-year sentence to be served consecutively. A third seven-and-a-half to 15-year sentence was suspended for 15 years after release. For the tampering count, Trainor received a three-and-a-half to seven-year sentence, suspended for 15 years.

Judge John Kissinger said the minimum 13-plus-year sentence was satisfactory, given what he had seen of the case during the last four-plus years.

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Trainor assaulted his daughter, about 13 months old at the time, causing injuries including bowel and traumatic brain injuries. The girl also suffered from kidney failure. After the girl was taken to Concord Hospital on Feb. 23, 2022, and later medflighted to a Boston hospital, police sealed the Pinewood Trail home until a search warrant could be obtained. Trainor called a relative from a neighbor’s home and asked the neighbor not to mention what they overheard during the call, which led to the tampering charge.

At the time of the incident, the victim’s mother was away, traveling to Nashville and New Orleans, on a pre-planned “girl’s trip,” according to police investigators.

Prosecutor Shaylen Elizabeth Roberts said the girl, now 5 and a half, was “doing very well” during her recovery due to her own strength, despite the brutal, permanent injuries.

“She’s a remarkable child,” she said. “She is going to have a beautiful life.”

Trainor’s ex-wife and ex-mother-in-law made victim-witness statements, flanked by more than a dozen other people, including family members, Concord police detectives who worked the case, Barrett Moulton, the city’s new chief of police, and Meg Hagaman, who was recently elected Merrimack County Attorney.

The victim’s grandmother said she thought Trainor left her granddaughter for dead but, instead, she would not die and was saved by medical science, not her EMT father. We will never know what her life will be like, she said, calling Trainor “a sociopath,” “a psychopath,” “a delusional, pathetic loser,” and “a disgusting, soulless creature.”

The victim’s mother said she never worried about Trainor being around the children since he was a paramedic and saved lives for a living. She felt safe and believed his promises of their dreams and planning to build a life together. Every day, for their daughter, she said, was a struggle, something that could not be unseen.

During both statements, members of Trainor’s family, who are dealing with a loss of their own, the death of Mass. State Police Trooper Kevin Trainor, David Trainor’s brother, who was killed by a wrong-way driver in May, snickered at the comments.

One was seen motioning with their hands, urging the victim’s grandmother to get on with it. They also verbally challenged his guilty pleas. One woman was heard saying that they knew what really happened, while another suggested the victim’s mother should have never taken the trip to Mardi Gras. Another, after Trainor was led away, suggested his attorney should have defended him since the guilty pleas were not the truth.

Several people seated near the victim’s family could be seen glaring at Trainor’s family while they made their comments, which were audible to some in the courtroom.

Trainor’s attorney, Charles Keefe, said his client would not be offering any statement or comment.

In his closing remarks, Kissinger said he did not have much to add but commended “the overwhelming majority” of first responders, doctors, and others who made it their life’s work to help others. He said the victim had a long path ahead, and his heart went out to her and the family, hoping she would have “a good and happy life, as possible, given the circumstances.” Kissinger added that children should see their parents as their protectors, not perpetrators.

After turning to Trainor, the judge said he hoped he would make good use of his time in prison.

“It’s not an easy thing; 13 years in prison is a long time,” Kissinger said. “But my hope is you will take some of that time and work on becoming a better person.”

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