Haitian accused of raping child in Massachusetts will keep high bond, SJC rules

On By Pranco

The Haitian citizen charged in the rape of a 15-year-old “disabled” girl at a Rockland hotel converted into migrant housing remains held on $150,000 bond after Massachusetts’ highest court denied his request to reduce it.

Cory Alvarez, who is subject to deportation by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement, is charged with aggravated rape of a child with a difference in age of ten years or more, and with rape of a child by force. He has pleaded not guilty.

“I am pleased that the single judge dismissed this defendant’s petition seeking relief to reduce his bail. We will continue to prosecute this case, especially to seek justice on behalf of the child victim, but also to ensure that both the victim and Alvarez have their day in court,” Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz wrote in a statement .

Alvarez’s bail was increased from $500 to $150,000 last month by Brockton Superior Court Judge Elaine Buckley. She said she felt the strength of the case, combined with “the suspect’s lack of ties to the community and his flight risk,” justified the significantly higher bail.

ICE agreed to “respect the suspect being held on bail and delay deportation until the conclusion of the case,” the prosecutor said at that hearing, requesting a $1 million bond.

Alvarez’s attorney, Brian Kelley, appealed the higher bail at the state Supreme Court’s single hearing, but was unsuccessful.

Judge Serge Georges Jr. ruled on Tuesday “that the judge did not abuse her discretion by determining that this high amount is necessary to ensure the defendant’s appearance at trial.”

“A High Court judge may set a bail amount that is higher than an affordable one… if neither alternative non-financial terms nor a bail amount that the person could likely afford would adequately guarantee the person’s appearance in court,” Georges writes in his order.

The higher bail was set due to prosecutors’ concerns that ICE would deport Alvarez, who is subject to a threatened deportation order, before the accused rapist could be convicted of his crimes.

“It appears that if he is released on bail, he will be immediately removed from this country by federal authorities. Under these circumstances, the judge rightly found it necessary to detain him until his trial by setting a bail amount in excess of what was affordable,” Georges’ order continues. “For the above reasons, the request is denied.”

Alvarez was originally given a $500 bond but was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after his release. Prosecutors were notified last month that ICE planned to deport the suspect back to Haiti on Oct. 31, prompting them to file a motion to increase bail due to the impending deportation.

Accusations

Alvarez and the alleged victim both lived at the Comfort Inn at 850 Hingham St. in Rockland, which prosecutors say has been converted into a migrant housing facility operating under both state and federal programs.

Rockland police responded to the hotel just after 7 p.m. on March 13 after a clerk called to report a rape, according to the police report.

“He raped me,” the girl allegedly told investigators from an examination room at South Shore Hospital, the police report said. “I asked him to leave me alone, but he didn’t stop.”

Neither the girl nor her father spoke English and spoke to police through a French-Creole interpreter who connected by phone.

Prosecutors say Alvarez went with the girl to his room, Room 216, to allegedly help her in some way with her government-provided tablet computer.

While the two were in the room together, prosecutors allege, Alvarez asked her if she had a boyfriend before pushing her into the bed, pulling down her pants and underwear and then raping her.

Originally published: