Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

This past weekend saw a bit of nice weather. What better time to protest Massachusetts sex crimes against women? What better time to march around scantily clad and chastise men who gawk?

In short....what better time for a “Boston Slutwalk”?

You think I am kidding, right? Ol’ Sam’s sarcastic humor has gotten the best of him and he is crossing the line, huh? Well, not at all.

This past weekend, there was a parade of men and women, the later primarily wearing only micro minis and bras. It was called by its participants the “Boston Slutwalk” and it wound its way from Government Center to the Common the marchers, chanting, “However we dress, wherever we go, yes means yes, and no means no,”

People stared, but no one dared to act in the animalistic way one might expect. As the Boston Herald put it, “you don’t mess with 200 “sluts” on a mission.“

Boston’s “Slutwalk” was one of an international series of such things that began earlier this year when a silver-tongued Toronto police officer allegedly told a group of York University law students that the best way to avoid getting raped was to not dress like a slut.

How delicately and tastefully put.

Continue reading "A Boston Rape Attorney Discusses The “Boston Slutwalk”" »

Today’s blog is a reminder. It is a reminder to those of us, in and out of the trenches of criminal justice about reality. We often proclaim that facing a criminal allegation, so long as the accused does not end up spending too many years in jail,is “no harm, no foul”. We figure that simply being accused is no big deal.

That is, until it happens to us.

Let’s look at the case of former Children’s Hospital Boston pediatrician Dr. Melvin D. Levine.

Dr. Levine was a former chief of ambulatory pediatrics at the hospital.

Dr. Levine was a Rhodes scholar and a best-selling author who had appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show’’.

Dr. Levine was then accused of molesting “thousands of his pediatric patients”. Never criminally charged...simply accused in a civil law suit.

Dr. Levine was shortly thereafter found dead in the woods near his home in North Carolina. According to authorities, he had shot himself in the forehead with a 12-gauge shotgun.

Before you take the suicide as some kind of admission of guilt, be aware that he not only left behind a suicide note, but also a journal that he had kept. To the end, Dr. Levine insisted that he was innocent.

Continue reading "A Boston Doctor, Accused Of Sex Crimes Against Children, Takes His Own Life– Attorney Sam’s Take" »

Today, as we “hunker down” and “enjoy” the last blizzard of the year, we continue the discussion about recent Massachusetts sentences that were recently handed down to fairly unusual criminal defendants during this holiday season. Today’s matter involves a meeting of sexual assault and prostitution.

James M. Burke, 43, of Chelsea (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was a criminal court clerk magistrate in Chelsea District Court. Apparently, he had an interesting thing going with a couple of criminal defendants in court. These particular defendants had been arrested for prostitution.

According to one of the complainants, the Defendant removed her from her cell in the courthouse in 2005. He then led her to a room, locked the door, and promised to get her case dismissed in exchange for oral sex. After she fulfilled her part of the deal, the case was not dismissed.

The second victim testified that the Defendant stalked her after her arrest on a prostitution charge, then sexually assaulted her when she was at the courthouse last year. She claimed during the trial in federal court that she was forced into a downstairs room, where he sat on her during the assault and threatened to keep her in jail if she did not comply with him.

“I absolutely did not consent to this action,’’ she told the judge . “The brutality of it was shocking to me. Even though I had worked on the streets on occasion, nothing compared to the humiliation and powerlessness that I felt.’’

Continue reading "Attorney Sam’s Take: Massachusetts Criminal Court Is The Scene Of Unusual Sexual Assault For Which Clerk is Sentenced (Pt 2)" »

Last Friday, I told you that I was originally going to blog about a Massachusetts sex offender who had gotten arrested for urinating at an MBTA stop. If you are unaware of the gentleman’s story, you can read about it here as reported by our news-blogger. It may have made you wonder about what passes for logic amongst Massachusetts sex offenders.

Well, now comes a story that would indicate that it is right there with other deep thinkers in the rest of the country.

This story comes to us from Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.

People care about each other in Whitefish. Even federal employees, who sometimes get a bad rap for being anti-social, for example postal workers, care. Further, sometimes such people are not thought to have a sense of humor. Well, this is not true in Whitefish.

Enter a certain 52-uear-old postal carrier (hereinafter, the Defendant”). He was concerned about a 21-year-old woman whom he sees on his regular rounds. You see, she apparently had been seeming “stressed out”. Naturally, the Defendant wanted to relax her and cheer her up.

Now, what could be more natural than that?

Continue reading "Attorney Sam’s Take: Would A Naked Postal Employee Have To Register As A Sex Offender In Massachusetts?" »

On Friday, I told you that there were two decisions handed down by Boston’s Supreme Judicial Court that I wanted to address with you. The first, having to do with a murder conviction, had to do with jury bias. The second has to do with the topic of DNA and the statute of limitations, particularly in cases involving rape and other sex crimes.

It also has to do with hypocrisy.

The SJC has now ruled that prosecutors can indict suspects known only by their DNA profiles and bring them to ""justice years later when police identify who the genetic material belongs to, even if the statutes of limitation have lapsed.

This was a big decision and is being regarded by many as the next logical step in our evolving criminal justice system of the 21st century. It is the first decision of its kind in Massachusetts. The Court concluded that a DNA profile is an “indelible ‘bar code’ that labels an individual’s identity with nearly irrefutable precision.’’ As such, it can serve as the identity of the person indicted, even though the charging document lists the unknown defendant as “John Doe”.

The ruling is consistent with the state of the law in several other states.

You see, the issue here is the statute of limitations applicable to various matters. Said statute sets a time bar, similar to civil matters, within which a case can be brought against a particular defendant. Every crime has a statute of limitations except in cases of murder. There is no statute of limitations on murder.

Continue reading "Attorney Sam’s Take: Boston’s SJC Rules On “DNA Indictments” In Rape Case" »

On Friday, Boston’s Supreme Judicial Court, the highest state court in the Commonwealth, passed down a ruling that underscores the contractual aspect of being on probation, particularly in sexual assault cases.

The ruling indicates that new probation restrictions cannot be imposed on sex offenders – such as wearing a GPS device or banning them from playgrounds -- until after they violate their probation.

The case in which the issue came up was that of Ralph G. (hereinafter, the “Probationer”). The Probationer is a Level 3 sex offender who was convicted of kidnapping and raping a 7-year-old boy in 1990. After a post-conviction hearing, a jury finding him to not be “sexually dangerous” any longer, the Superior Court ordered him to get sex offender counseling and maintain mental health care. No other limits were placed on him, such as limiting where he could go or the wearing of a GPS device.

However, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. Was not satisfied with this. His office wanted the Probationer to wear a GPS and to be banned from playgrounds, schools, and libraries.

Continue reading "Boston’s SJC Rules On Probation’s Quest For GPS In Kidnapping – Rape Case" »

Confessions Of A Former Prosecutor - Introduction

...And so I sit to grab a moment of rest as I get home to my apartment after a day starting another trial. This time it is a rape case. Sex crimes cases are how I actually began in this work. My first year as an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn was in the Sex Crimes and Special Victms Bureau.

I remember back to one night, looking around my Brooklyn Heights apartment, papers and chineese food scattered, mid-trial, taking note of my surroundings. Then I looked into a mirror, seeing Mr. Prosecutor..red-eyed, sweaty and dressed...well, let's just say not at my best.

This is when I began thinking, "If people only knew...!"

There I was, mere months out of law school in Boston and now juggling around one hundred sex crimes cases…..all of which seemed bound for trial.

I had always loved performing, and so being a student prosecutor at Boston University Law School had been fun…but this was the real stuff. And there I lay on my couch, too tired to review a rape case that was mid-trial, yet knowing that I had to do so. All those "all nighters at school tended to pay off at such moments.

If people only knew…this is the picture of that scary prosecutor who had the power to send people to jail.

Continue reading " A Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Recalls His Days As A Prosecutor (Part One)" »

Lest you think that Amy Bishop is the only person being haunted by Ghosts of Boston-Area Criminal Allegations Past, let me discuss with you the case of Bob O. (hereinafter, the “Target”). Suddenly, the Target needs a lawyer. A good one. An experienced one.

It was the summer of 1976. Sam A. (hereinafter, “Witness”) recalls he was strolling down the Boston streets when he ran into his friend, the Target. The Target was with a 14-year-old lad that we will call “Youth”.

“Gee”, thought Witness. “It sure is odd to find [Target] with a 14-year-old…” and then the thought of said oddity dissolved inside Witness’ head.

Thirty years went by. Witness and the Target became closer and closer, sharing a passion for sports. Over the years, the Target built up quite a reputation as a standout coach for the powerhouse basketball team at Christ the King Regional High School in Queens, New York.

Well, it looks like the friendship has seen better days. You see, Witness is now cooperating with Boston prosecutors presenting evidence to a Suffolk grand jury that the Target repeatedly molested Youth all those years ago, while staying at the Sheraton Boston Hotel.

Continue reading "Grand Jury Investigation Into Past Boston Sexual Assault Underscores Need For Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney…Quick!" »

Authorities are charging 14-year-old Raul Renato Castro as an adult in the murder of Alex Christopher Mercato. The 4-year-old disappeared on Friday afternoon while playing outside his home.

Police found Mercato’s body the next day. It was stuffed inside a clothes dryer in the house next door. Autopsy results indicate that he drowned.

Castro was the only one at his home on Friday. Prosecutors have charged him with special circumstances, including the sexual crime involving sodomy, kidnapping, murder during a child molestation, and murder of a witness to prevent testimony.

Castro’s mother, Elsa, says her son is a good boy who has never been in trouble. If convicted, Castro could end up serving 47-years-to life in prison. California law does not allow a youth offender to face life in prison without parole or the death penalty.

In court, today, an affidavit was released stating that the junior high school student has admitted to luring the 4-year-old into his home, sodomizing him, and drowning him in the bathtub after the victim threatened to tell his mother.

Castro’s arraignment, scheduled for yesterday, was rescheduled for Tuesday.

Getting arrested and charged with a crime is life changing for anyone. The best decision that you can make for your child is to contact an experienced Boston juvenile crimes lawyer right away.

Kids make mistakes. They can also be wrongly accused of crimes they did not commit. When a crime is committed, there may be reasons for the juvenile's actions that must be brought to light in order to ensure a fair trail. There may be evidence that is inadmissible. There may be reasons why certain charges should be thrown out or reduced.

Affidavit: Teen says he killed boy found in dryer, AP/Google, November 4, 2009

Boy, 14, charged as adult in clothes-dryer murder of 4-year-old, CNN, November 3, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Assessing Juveniles Who Commit Murder, Psychiatric Times, May 1, 2005

Juveniles, The International Justice Project

Continue reading "14-Year-Old Charged with Murder of 4-Year-Old Found in Clothes Dryer" »

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court says that people convicted of sexual crimes before 2006 do not have to wear GPS devices if they violate parole or probation. The decision split the court 4-3. The majority, however, said that the law cannot be applied retroactively.

The case involves a Bristol County sex offender who was convicted in 1997. Russell M. Cory pled guilty to indecent assault and battery on a child. He served time in prison for several years and was ordered to serve 25 years probation.

Cory left prison in May 2006. He did not take part in mandatory counseling sessions or treatment. Soon after the 2006 law went into effect, Cory was ordered to wear a GPS for violating his probation. Cory, a Level 3 sex offender, is back in jail.

Cory found that using the GPS device, which a sex offender must wear at all times, was a physical and emotional burden. Today, the Supreme Judicial Court said that forcing someone convicted of a sex crime before 2006 to use a GPS device is an unconstitutional burden on his or her liberty and that providing Cory with his constitutional protections against government intrusion takes precedence over the concern regarding public safety.

The Massachusetts Declaration of Rights bans retroactive punishments. This means that only sex offenders convicted of committing crimes that occurred after December 2006 will have to wear the GPS bracelet when on probation.

The Massachusetts Parole Board reports that there are 82 sex offenders on parole that have to use GPS devices. The board will now determine if any of these people are affected by the SJC’s ruling.

GPS Monitoring Devices for Sexual Offenders
The GPS bracelets transmits signals that reveal a sex offender’s location. This device allows law enforcement officers to know when a sex offender has entered an area where he or she is not allowed.

In May, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that defendants charged with Massachusetts sexual crimes but have yet to be convicted do not have to wear GPS devices.

Even if you have been arrested, charged with, or convicted for a sexual crime, you are entitled to certain legal and civil protections under state and federal law. An experienced Boston criminal law firm can make sure that your rights are protected and provide you with a solid and effective defense.

A split SJC says 2006 law violates rights of some sex offenders, Boston.com, August 18, 2009

SJC decision allows thousands of sex offenders to wander freely, LowellSun.com, August 18, 2009

Sex offender can't be required to wear GPS device, rules Massachusetts' highest court, Lawyers USA/All Business, May 11, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Sex Offender Registry Board, Mass.gov

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/

Massachusetts Parole Board

Massachusetts Declaration of Rights

The daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog has followed the continuing problem of groping on the MBTA over the past several months.

The ongoing problem is in the news again.

The MBTA has announced an event last Tuesday which ended in the arrest of Jose V. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). The arrest took place at the Wollaston T Station on the Red Line. The alleged crime(s)?

Multiple counts of indecent assault and battery and criminal harassment.

More specifically, the Defendant has been arrested for allegedly, and repeatedly, groping a woman several times on the Red Line.

At approximately 8:22 am, police officers were dispatched to the Wollaston T Station to meet with a woman who complained that she was being followed. After locating the woman by the fare gates, she told them that she had just seen a man walk towards her that had sexually assaulted her twice in the past.

One of the officers immediately recognized the female from reports that she had been allegedly accosted several times last year while taking the T. He asked her if the man that had just approached her was the same man that has accosted her twice before and she answered in the affirmative. According to the T, she appeared terrified and was near tears.

Officers searched the area for the suspect, who the woman described as a Hispanic male, 5-5'4" thin build, clean shaven wearing a baseball hat and a black sweatshirt. She believed he left the area on foot, possibly heading northbound on Newport Avenue. The search expanded to the north of the station, including a Wendy’s fast food restaurant to see if any of their employees might have seen the suspect. While talking to the employees, Officers noted the Defendant, a Hispanic male who was dressed in Wendy’s working attire, sweeping the lot.

Continue reading "Another Accused MBTA Sex Offender Needs An Experienced Lawyer " »

In Massachusetts, Melrose YMCA girls basketball coach James Conner has been indicted on 20 criminal charges for his alleged sexual assault of two girls. The 51-year-old North Reading resident is also accused of videotaping the incidents using hidden cameras. Prosecutors say they plan to use the video evidence in their case against Conner.

Among the charges against him are four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, five counts of rape of a child, two counts of posing a child in sexual conduct, two counts of posing a child in a state of nudity, interception of oral communication, photographing/videotaping a naked person without their knowledge, and witness intimidation.

The girls basketball coach was arrested last month and charged with raping one of his players. An investigation into the allegations led to the other rape victim, as well as more charges.

At the time of the alleged sexual assault incidents, the girls were younger than 14. The crimes reportedly took place at Conner’s home and at YMCA events.

In an unrelated incident, a Massachusetts man was sentenced to life in prison for the rape of a 6-year-old boy in a public library. Corey Dean Saunders, 27, pleaded guilty to the rape charge last month. He admitted that he got the boy to join him in the reading room while his mother was on a nearby computer. He will be up for parole in 15 years.

Massachusetts Sexual Crimes
The state of Massachusetts takes a tough stance against people convicted of raping minors. A person convicted of the forcible rape of a child under 16 years of age could end up spending the rest of his or her life in prison. This is why it is so important that you retain the services of an experienced Boston sexual crimes attorney who can defend you.

Melrose YMCA coach indicted on 20 charges, Boston.com, April 2, 2009

Mass. man charged in library rape gets life, Associated Press, April 2, 2009

YMCA Coach Indicted On Child Rape Charges, The Boston Channel, April 2, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Information for Sex Offenders, Mass.gov

How To Survive in Prison as an Innocent Man Convicted of a Sex Crime, IPT Journal, 1997

Continue reading "Melrose YMCA Girls Basketball Coach Indicted on 20 Massachusetts Criminal Charges for Allegedly Sexual Assaulting Two Young Girls " »

Yesterday, outrage erupted in Natick District Court as a Boston homeless shelter resident stood with his attorney as his victims demanded his incarceration. The dramatic scene unfolded when the mother of a sexually abused child chastised the judge for allowing a sexual offender to remain free despite alleged parole violations.

John C., a level 3 sex offender (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) has already been convicted of assaulting Rachel F.’s (hereinafter, the “Mother”) 9-year-old daughter. Upon his release from serving a part of his sentence, he was ordered by the court to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.

He has not done so.

The Defendant was given several months to comply with a court order to find new housing or find a way to charge the GPS device. He has been living at a local shelter For Homeless Veterans since being released from prison in December.

Without the GPS device.

Now, he was given more time to correct the violation.

Continue reading "Boston Sex Offender Faces Jail Time For Parole Violations" »

We have heard some real horror stories regarding people in the financial industry lately. The name “Bernie Madoff” still brings shivers to many people’s spines. Since the discovery of Madoff’s white collar crimes, other such crimes seem to be coming to light. You have read a number of these in this daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog.

But a certain former senior vice president from a white-shoe Boston wealth management firm has gained notoriety in a different way.

He is alleged to be a flasher.

Stephen B., 40, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was arrested on March 11th for exposing himself to young women and is also being eyed as the flasher dubbed the “campus flasher” who preyed on Wellesley College students, according to the Boston Herald.

According to law enforcement, the Defendant was spotted by campus police while he was fondling his exposed genitals. He was charged with indecent exposure and open and gross lewdness, said Wellesley Police Deputy Chief Bill Brooks. If convicted, the Defendant will have to register as a sex offender.

The Defendant also is being eyed in connection with other lewd acts that prompted a “campus crime alert” last month, two law enforcement officials said.

Continue reading "Boston-Based Sex Offender Leaves World Of Finance For That Of Law" »

A while ago, this daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog posted a story about the groping problem on the Boston “T”. For those of you who would like to review, you can find the posting here.

Well, the problem continues.

On Friday, Carlos D. of Dorchester (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was arrested. He is accused of assaulting and groping passengers on a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trolley.

MBTA police said they were called to the Coolidge Corner MBTA stop in Brookline at about 10:15 p.m. Friday for a report that a man assaulted several people on a trolley car. One woman told MBTA police that the Defendant put his hand on her buttocks as she rode the C Line trolley. The woman's boyfriend told the Defendant to get away from her, and the couple reported the incident to an MBTA employee.

Another woman told police that the Defendant touched her repeatedly in the shoulder. When a man stepped between them, the man said the Defendant "violently" pushed him in the chest, according to the police report.

Yet another woman claims he touched her face.

Continue reading "The Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog Revisits Sexual Assaults On The MBTA" »

Bad day for the defense in Lowell Superior Court this past Monday. Just out of Boston is a place called Arlington. Not too long ago, Arlington boasted Senator Jim M. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) as its local representative. Today, he is no longer a senator. This week began as he and his attorney were given the bad news. The court denied his motion to dismiss.

This is not the first time we have discussed this particular defendant. I call your attention to this daily blog’s posting on February 11th, entitled “Boston’s Supreme Judicial Court Upholds Prosecuting Attorney’s Refusal To Prosecute Sex Crime”. That was about a good day for the Defendant when the state’s highest court upheld the prosecutor’s refusal not to prosecute a new matter with similar charges against him. If he thought that was a sign that he was going to be able to crush the prosecutions already started against him...he was mistaken.

The Defendant was arrested last June and accused of a host of offenses. These include the sexual harassment of four women in Lowell. At his arrest, he initially fled police, according to police reports, and was captured in a Lowell parking garage. In addition to the four counts of annoying and accosting, the Defendant is charged with also attempting to commit a crime (indecent assault and battery); disorderly conduct; and resisting arrest.

The Defendant has pleaded not guilty and his trial is slated to begin in April. But he and his lawyer thought they had a shot at making that trial a bit shorter.

The rather novel argument was that the four counts of annoying and accosting a person of the opposite sex are unconstitutional because he would not have been charged with the same crime if he were a woman.

Continue reading "Boston Area Lawyer’s Gambit To Dismiss Sex-Related Charges Against Local Politician Fails…Maybe" »

Here’s something you don’t see every day...a prosecuting attorney who has to go to Boston’s Supreme Judicial Court to back him up in not prosecuting someone!

Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone has refused to prosecute former state Senator James Marzilli for an alleged assault of an Arlington woman last April. Leone said he found there was not enough evidence to prosecute Marzilli for Massachusetts’ indecent assault and battery charges.

The complainant is not happy. She has been fighting Leone all the way to force him to prosecute.

The complainant alleges that Marzilli drove her to her Arlington home from a fund-raiser in April and, while standing in her kitchen, grabbed her breast and crotch. But Leone said in August that there wasn't enough evidence to prove the woman's case "beyond a reasonable doubt," which is the standard in criminal cases.

The woman then filed a private criminal complaint, the normal process of which being having a clerk magistrate’s hearing to determine probable cause to issue a criminal complaint. Apparently, the clerk found probable cause and a complaint issued.

But Leone again decided not to prosecute and refused to have Marzilli arraigned.

Continue reading "Boston’s Supreme Judicial Court Upholds Prosecuting Attorney’s Refusal To Prosecute Sex Crime" »

When I returned to Boston as a defense attorney from New York, where I had been on the other side of the aisle, I discovered a few differences between daily in Beantown and the Apple. One of these was the subway experience. While in New York, the experience could be compared to an excursion through the land of “Wearehostileville”, The “T” was much more calm…much more safe.

Well, that may be changing a bit. For example, this past Friday, a Beverly man was arrested after he allegedly groped a plainclothes Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police detective on a train. As www.universalhub.com/mbta, a site dedicated to The MBTA, puts it, “a plainclothes transit detective put the pinch on a Beverly man after he allegedly put the moves on her on the Blue Line this morning, the MBTA says.”

Jeffrey N., 51, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), was charged with indecent assault and battery for the rush-hour incident in East Boston around 8:45 a.m. by the transit police's Anti-Groping Unit at State Street Station. He is scheduled to be arraigned today in Boston Municipal Court, according to MBTA officials

According to T spokesman Joe Pesaturo, the Transit Police Anti-Groping Unit had been monitoring the Blue Line after a passenger complained about groping. Following the highly-publicized April 2008 launch of an anti-sexual harassment campaign, reported incidents of people being indecently assaulted rose from 44 in 2007 to 69 last year, according to the MBTA.

Continue reading "Boston Arrest For Sexual Assault On “T” Train" »

A new year is just about dawning! There is a new administration coming in to lead the country! Even our Cambridge office is moving (next door)! Let’s face it, people are on the go!

And, as goes “the people”, so goes the criminal justice system.

For example, let’s look at the case of the “Traveling Brawl Show” which opened its tents this week. It had a relatively short run, though. It ran from the evening hours of Tuesday to the morning hours of Wednesday, starting in Dennis, Massachusetts and ending in Hyannis.

It was not a “feel good” type of show, though. The star of the show, Patrick D., 27, of Dennisport (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”) performed the last act solo amidst charges of assault and battery on a police officer, assault and battery, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

The touring group began around 9:30pm on Tuesday at a Christy's in Dennisport. A customer mentioned to the store's assistant manager that a fight was underway near the dumpster to the rear of the store. The employee looked out and saw about 10 people fighting, including one with a baseball bat.

The assistant manager called the Dennis police. Meanwhile, the fight moved to the middle of Route 28, stopping traffic. The participants fled when Dennis police cruisers arrived.

According to court documents, the altercation allegedly led to two men being beat with one or more baseball bats and to the stabbing of Defendant 1 's brother. The injured were taken by others, including Defendant 1 , to the hospital.

Later that night, Officer Barrette was dispatched to the hospital to stand by the victims while Dennis police were en route to take statements. Hospital security guards took Barrette into an office to observe the people who had arrived with the injured.

The officer said he saw a man run into the emergency room lobby being chased by Defendant 1 . The man stood behind a hospital guard, but Defendant 1 allegedly still punched him.

Continue reading "Massachusetts Is On The Go With Assaults, Drugs And Captive Audiences" »

The Ten Commandments had a few things to say about interaction with one’s neighbors. It might have been helpful, however, had they mentioned what would later be named “the internet” and how it would play into things. At least, it might have helped a particular Andover couple.

Friday morning, Bill and Gail J., both 51 (hereinafter, the “Defendants”), were arrested and charged with criminally harassing their neighbors (hereinafter, the “Neighbors”) over the Internet because of a property dispute.

The harassment allegedly started with a fake advertisement on Craig's List for used golf carts and other items such as unwanted memberships to a national nudist association. You guessed it...the Neighbors were listed as the people to contact. It then escalated to fake reports of child abuse to state social workers, mysteriously opened bank accounts, and threatening emails and letters, prosecutors said.

The harassment took place over several weeks in March, authorities said. According to court records, the Neighbors began receiving dozens of harassing and threatening e-mails and phone calls. At one point, DSS social workers came to their home to investigate false claims that their 14-year-old son had abused a female at school.

The Defendants pleaded not guilty to counts of criminal harassment, identity fraud and conspiracy at their arraignment in Essex District Court, as they each stood by their individual attorney. Both lawyers said the Defendants are Tewksbury High School graduates who own a realty company and have lived in Andover for nine years. They are also parents of three teenage daughters.

Continue reading "Andover, Massachusetts, Couple Arrested For Internet Crimes Of Harassment, Identity Fraud And Threats " »