Burlington Woman Claims Waltham Uncle Sexually Assaulted Her in the 1970s

A Burlington woman is claiming her uncle, a Waltham businessman, sexually assaulted her many times between 1968 and 1977, according to a lawsuit filed in Middlesex Superior Court.

Rosanne Sliney, 48, claims her uncle, Domenic Previte Jr., of Waltham, sexually assaulted and raped her hundreds of times starting when she was five. The alleged abuse continued until 1977, when she was 14, according to the lawsuit. She also claims Previte forced her to have sex with other men, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also names, as defendants, the 10 other men which Sliney was allegedly forced to have sex with, but their identities have not been made public.

The alleged abuse occurred at Previte’s Waltham home (a different address then where he lives now), at a Cambridge car wash and the Showcase Cinemas in Woburn, according to the lawsuit.

Sliney is asking for unknown amount of financial compensation for her pain and suffering as well as attorney’s fees.

Sliney and her attorney, Carmen Durso, were scheduled to hold a press conference about the lawsuit at 1 p.m. today at Durso’s Boston office.

Sliney began recalling the alleged abuse in 1988 and confided in relatives, according to the suit. She sought psychiatric treatment and was hospitalized several times starting in 1987 when she was 24, according to the lawsuit.

In March 1991, Sliney signed a “Release and Settlement” agreement in exchange for $26,500. Sliney, however, claims her tenuous mental state left her unable to understand what she was signing, according to the lawsuit. She also claims she felt pressured by her family to forgive Previte as another reason she signed the document, according to the lawsuit. She was also told the document was merely a formality, according to the lawsuit.

Previte also allegedly confessed and apologized, in a handwritten letter to Sliney, for abusing Sliney, according to the lawsuit.

Later, Sliney was again hospitalized, but Previte refused to pay for the treatment, leaving Sliney with the bills, which are still outstanding today, according to the lawsuit.

Within the past year, Sliney has started recalling new memories in which she remembers Previte forcing her to have sex with other men, the lawsuit says.