A man has been arrested and charged in connection to the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl while she was walking home from middle school in Brockton, Massachusetts, last week.
The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office says Brockton Police determined Marckenson Beauge was a person of interest in Tuesday's alleged attack after conducting numerous interviews during their investigation. They obtained a search warrant for 20 Cherry Street, where it's believed Beauge lives, but he was not home at the time, and police were told that he was working at a fast-food restaurant in Easton, where Beauge was taken into custody without incident Friday.
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Police previously said they had responded to West Middle School around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday for a report of an indecent assault and battery on a child and a student told officers that she was walking home on West Elm Street when a man allegedly approached her in the driveway of a home near Elmside Road nearly a mile down the street from the school.
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Police hadn't said what happened in the sexual assault, but noted the girl was able to escape after a short struggle and get home.
The school district's interim superintendent had called the incident "deeply concerning" in a statement released by Brockton police announcing their investigation Wednesday. She also said school officials were working closely with police to help identify a suspect, encouraging students to remain vigilant and report anything concerning.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
New details were revealed at Beauge's arraignment Monday, where not guilty pleas were entered on the 22-year-old's behalf for charges of rape of a child with force, kidnapping of a child, and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.
Prosecutors say the victim in this case did not tell her mom about what happened the evening that it occurred, but she did tell a friend and then she reported the incident to a behavioral specialist at her school the next morning.
She told police that she had been sexually assaulted while walking home from school around 3:30 p.m. the day before. According to the victim, the suspect, later identified as Beauge, began walking with her, telling her that she was beautiful and that he loved her.
He allegedly wrapped his arms around her, forcefully pulled her into the driveway of a yellow house that was undergoing construction and brought her behind a stack of boxes, where the alleged sexual assault occurred. She was then able to get away, at which time Beauge did not follow but he allegedly yelled after her to come back tomorrow.
Prosecutors say the victim took officers on Wednesday to the yellow house where the alleged sexual assault occurred and described the clothes her alleged assailant was wearing. She also told police that he was missing his front teeth, had messy hair that was longer on top and shorter on the sides, and was riding a blue bicycle with white lettering and thick tires.
Beauge was ordered held Monday pending the outcome of a dangerousness hearing on Thursday. Attorney information wasn't immediately available.
