Girl,15, says she was raped by fellow migrant at Rockland hotel
ROCKLAND − A man living in a Rockland hotel is being held without bail after being arrested and charged with aggravated rape of a child.
Cory B. Alvarez, 26, of Haiti, was arraigned on the charge in Hingham District Court on Thursday. He is being held pending the outcome of a dangerousness hearing March 22.
The 15-year-old girl officials say he raped is also a Haitian migrant staying at the hotel. They and others are staying at a Rockland hotel with other migrants as part of the state’s right to shelter law.
Rockland police said this incident is isolated.
Alvarez pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday in Hingham District Court on one count of aggravated rape of a child.
According to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office, Rockland police responded to a report of the allegation from the Comfort Inn on Hingham Street around 7 p.m. Wednesday.
'I told him to leave me alone, but he didn’t stop'
The 15-year-old was taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth to undergo a sexual assault investigation. Her clothes were collected as evidence, according to the report.
The girl, who speaks French Creole, told investigators through translators − one who translated French Creole to Spanish and a second who translated the Spanish to English − that Alvarez raped her in a room while she was getting help with apps on a tablet. She said Alvarez pushed her onto the bed and raped her, according to the police report.
"He raped me," the girl told investigators, according to the police report. “I told him to leave me alone, but he didn’t stop.”
The girl pointed police to the room and pointed him out as her assailant, according to the report.
Alvarez came to the United States from Haiti last summer, according to WCVB, and has been living at the hotel since October while seeking immigration status.
Alvarez was ordered to surrender his passport and have no contact with the victim while in custody.
The Comfort Inn is one of numerous short-term housing sites being used by the state to address an overflow of migrant families.
The 40-year-old right to shelter law guarantees housing for homeless families and pregnant women.
“Our department provides community outreach to the hotel. We also work in close partnership with the National Guard who are stationed there, and we work to just make it as safe as possible,” Police Chief Nicholas Zeoli told WCVB.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Haitian migrant accused of rape of girl at Rockland Comfort Inn
