Man in child neglect case earlier convicted of rape

GARDNER -- A man charged this week in connection with the beating death of a toddler was ordered in April 2006 to register as a sex offender and have his DNA put on file because of a 2005 rape that sent him to prison, according to court records.

Luke Malizia pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of indecent assault and battery and was ordered to spend one year in jail, according to the records in Gardner District Court. The records do not indicate whether he did register, and his name does not appear on the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board website.

It was shortly after he emerged from behind bars that Malizia began visiting Michele Lepkowski, the mother of 2-year-old Raelynn Mascal, who was beaten to death a week ago.

As more details emerged in the case, a state official said yesterday that the state social services agency that had the toddler under its care will be reviewed top to bottom.

"It certainly prompts us to look very carefully at our policies and our practices and to see where there are opportunities for improvement," said Marilyn Anderson Chase, assistant secretary of the Executive Office for Children, Youth, and Families, which oversees the Department of Social Services.

After receiving a tip May 6 charging neglect of the toddler, DSS launched an investigation and put in place a "safety plan," spokeswoman Denise Monteiro said.

Caseworkers told Malizia and his mother that the plan barred him from visiting Lepkowski, the toddler's mother, or having contact with the child, Monteiro said.

The probe came too late. Lepkowski was charged Thursday with assault and battery on a child and reckless endangerment in connection with the alleged beating while Malizia was charged with being present and failing to intercede.

Monteiro said the agency did not have the personnel to keep a 24-hour watch on the home and could not have taken any action against Malizia.

Connie Paige can be reached at cpaige@globe.com.

(Correction: Because of an editing error, a headline in a story in Saturday's City & Region section incorrectly stated that Luke Malizia, who is charged with failing to intercede in the beating death of a Gardner 2-year-old earlier this month, had been convicted of rape. He had pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of indecent assault and battery in a 2005 case.)