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Joshua Hubert, of Worcester, was sentenced to at least 28 years in prison after kidnapping, strangling, and throwing a 7-year-old girl off a bridge. A Worcester man was sentenced to decades in prison for kidnapping and strangling a 7-year-old girl before throwing her off a bridge in 2017, officials announced Oct. 17. Joshua Hubert, 43, received two consecutive sentences of 14 to 15 years in prison for attempted murder and one sentence or four to five years for strangulation to be served concurrently with one of the attempted murder sentences, the office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early said in a statement. Hubert was also sentenced to 4 years of probation for a kidnapping conviction to run after his prison sentences, Early said. Hubert was found guilty of attempted murder, strangulation, and kidnapping a child in September. He was acquitted of two additional counts of child rape, court records show. According to prosecutors, Hubert kidnapped the girl on Aug. 27, 2017, a day after attending a cookout with the girl’s family members. Hubert strangled her, then threw her off of the bridge over Lake Quinsigamond, prosecutors alleged. The girl, who is now 15, survived the fall and swam about 100 years to the shore to seek refuge at a Shrewsbury home, officials said. She testified against Hubert at his trial, recalling how she played dead in an effort to stay alive, MassLive reported. The trial, which started eight years after Hubert kidnapped the girl on Sept. 8, was delayed numerous times since 2020. “I respect the Judge’s decision in sentencing. This is a horrific case, and the Worcester Police Department is hopeful that it will provide closure to the courageous victim and her family,” Worcester Police Department Chief Paul Saucier said in a statement. Kevin Larson, Hubert’s attorney, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night. “I feel like I’m living in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.” I don’t know how rational jurors could look at the evidence and say that Joshua Hubert was guilty in this case,” Larson told Boston.com in September, after Hubert was convicted on most charges. Hubert’s history working with police Hubert has a long history of working with police, having held multiple internships and jobs at different police departments since his 20s, court records show. He worked as a community liaison at Worcester Juvenile Court and the Worcester Police Department when he was 21. He then worked part-time as a dispatcher for both the Holden and Sterling Police Departments, and in 2006 completed the six-month Boylston Police Academy, according to his defense’s sentencing memorandum. Hubert also took a civil service exam, but decided to leave law enforcement after being rejected from multiple positions. He then transitioned to working in information technology, according to court records.
