A Haitian man charged with raping a 15-year-old at a hotel serving as an emergency shelter for migrant families in Rockland, Massachusetts, this March won't have his bail lowered.
Cory Alvarez had appealed to have his bail lowered from $150,000 back to $500, but a Supreme Judicial Court justice denied his bid on Tuesday. The higher bail amount keeps him in state custody — federal authorities have been seeking to deport him.
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"The defendant is subject to an imminent deportation order, which he [has] not challenged in any way, and it appears that if he is released on bail, he will be promptly removed from this country by Federal authorities. In these circumstances, the judge properly found it necessary to detain him until trial by setting bail in a higher than affordable amount," Justice Serge Georges Jr. wrote in his motion denying Alvarez' petition for lower bail.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy Cruz said in a statement he was pleased by the decision: "We will continue on with prosecution of this case, most importantly to seek justice on behalf of the child victim, but also to ensure that both the victim, and Alvarez have their day in court."
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Alvarez is due back in court next Tuesday.
Alvarez was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting the teenager at the Comfort Inn on Hingham Street on March 13, the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office has said. A grand jury indicted him on a charge of aggravated rape of a child with 10-year age difference and rape of a child by force.
The Comfort Inn has been part of a government program to help house migrant families, prosecutors said at a previous court appearance.
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.
Alvarez was later arrested by federal immigration officials.
Immigration attorney Carmen Bello has told NBC10 Boston that in many cases involving immigration issues, defendants never complete their criminal cases in the states because they find themselves deported.
