A migrant allegedly raped an 11-year-old girl in the stairwell of a state-run shelter in Massachusetts – only to be moved to another shelter that same day rather than being sent to jail.
The alleged incident occurred on Dec. 9 in Peabody, outside Boston, when a fifth-grade girl reported being assaulted by the man in a stairwell of a Holiday Inn being used as a shelter, the Boston Globe reported.
Police responded immediately and referred the case to the office of Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker for further investigation.
But instead of arresting the 32-year-old suspect, authorities relocated him that night to an emergency family shelter at a Motel 6 in nearby Danvers.
The suspect, a Honduran migrant who has a pregnant wife and two daughters, 2 and 4, was later moved to an apartment-like unit in the shelter system with his family.
He has yet to be charged, and it took the district attorney more than six weeks to speak to the alleged victim.
Authorities attributed the delay to a lack of experts trained to speak with child victims.
A fifth-grade girl in Peabody, Massachusetts reported being assaulted by a man on Dec. 9 in a stairwell of a Holiday Inn being used as a state shelter
Police responded immediately and referred the case to the office of Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker for further investigation. It took the DA more than six weeks to speak to the alleged victim
The incident raises further concerns about the state’s oversight of its struggling shelter system, which has been under intense strain due to an influx of thousands of new migrants.
Previously, the Globe reported more than 1,000 serious incidents at state shelters over a 20-month period.
While the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities confirmed the shelter provider adhered to protocol by notifying authorities and reporting the incident, they did not address why an individual accused of sexual assault was transferred to another state-run shelter housing children, according to the Globe.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey’s administration also remained silent on their policy regarding shelter residents accused of crimes, specifically whether and when they are removed – immediately following an allegation or only after formal charges are filed.
The 11-year-old and her family have been relocated to a subsidized apartment, and her mother confirmed the girl was formally interviewed by authorities last week.
Peabody Police Chief Thomas Griffin confirmed that the police referred the case to both the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families and the Essex County District Attorney’s office.
The chief said the Essex County District Attorney’s office wanted to schedule an interview with a child forensic specialist.
Griffin explained that while specialized interviews are preferable for children in these situations, the limited number of trained interviewers often leads to delays.
The 11-year-old told police the suspect ‘pulled her into the stairwell and grabbed her breasts, and put his hand down her pants,’ ‘touch[ing] her private parts,’ the Globe reported. The girl was ‘shaken up, in tears and crying,’ a police officer said.
The mother of the alleged victim said that her daughter had been in the hallway playing with other kids at the time.
‘She started to cry and told me, «I feel dirty, I want to take a shower,»‘ the mother told the Globe.
instead of arresting the 32-year-old suspect, authorities relocated him that night to an emergency family shelter at a Motel 6 in nearby Danvers
Massachusetts Democrat Governor Maura Healey has downplayed more than 300 reports of horrific crimes within the state’s rapidly growing migrant shelters – including rape, trafficking, drug abuse, neglect and domestic violence
The suspect, who told the Globe he entered the US illegally with his family about a year ago, denied the allegations and told police he had only ‘brushed arms’ with the girl.
‘That did not happen,’ he said. ‘I respect other girls as if they were my daughters.’
He suggested the allegations were ‘slander’ intended to ‘obtain benefits.’
The girl’s mother said she remains scared, especially at the thought of the suspect being near other children in the shelter system.
‘He’s close to more kids, and no one knows,’ she said.
Governor Healey has proposed increased security measures, including background checks and requiring proof of lawful immigration status for shelter residents.
However, these proposals do not address the issue of individuals accused of serious crimes remaining in the shelter system.
The mother of the 11-year-old, along with some domestic violence advocates, are calling for a clear state directives to protect shelter residents from those accused of crimes.
This comes as the shelter system’s cost is projected to exceed $1 billion this fiscal year.
An influx of migrants have made their way to the blue state in recent years, many of whom are enrolled in the state’s Emergency Assistance migrant-family shelter program
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities recorded 316 ‘serious incident’ reports at hotels, congregate sites, scattered sites and co-shelters within the program since 2022
Since 2022, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities has recorded 316 ‘serious incident’ reports at hotels, congregate sites, scattered sites, and co-shelters within the program.
Following revelations of these incidents, Healey defended the program, telling the Boston Herald that the ‘vast majority’ of participants follow the rules, children are attending school, and ‘many of them’ are working.
‘Those who’ve come through immigration, most of them have received work authorizations and are also working,’ Healey said. ‘And so relative to that number, the instances have been very few.’
She emphasized that more than 50,000 people have passed through the program’s shelters – designed for homeless pregnant women and families with children – over the past three years.
‘But I take every, every – and I want my team to take, I want shelter providers to take- every incident seriously,’ she said.
Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies called the reports deeply troubling.
‘This is very disturbing. This is a huge number of incidents,’ she told the Boston Herald, which obtained details of the reports.
The records exposed years of severe incidents within the shelter system, including neglect, drug abuse, trafficking, rape, suicide, and domestic violence.
