Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog
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.
MBTA police said the Defendant kicked and screamed obscenities in Spanish when they tried to take him into custody. He has been charged with indecent assault and battery, three counts of assault and battery and disorderly conduct
According to the police, the Defendant was drunk when he was arrested and as a result had to have his booking delayed.
He is being held on $5,000 bail.
Attorney Sam’s Take:
First of all, what you already know. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to sexual assault. Actually, it is not a defense to most crimes, including all types of assault.
n my previous posting, I had the temerity to question whether the right approach toward preventing these assaults was having a fancy new department named in the press rather actually having more MBTA policemen present on the trains.
Well, despite the advent of the shiny new Anti-Groping Unit, it would appear that these crimes are still happenning. It may simply be a public relations problem and that the Defendant did not understand what he was and was not allowed to do. Perhaps a new unit called the Anti-Groping And Other Types Of Assault On The T Unit is in order.
Of course, it could simply be that the man, apparently drunk, was simply unsteady on his feet and was simply grabbing for something sturdy to prop himself up. Of course, the particular body parts grabbed, aside from the shoulder, are not typically grabbed for that purpose.
It is worth noting the difference between the types of assault and battery involved in this story.
The sexual assault is the indecent assault and battery. The difference, of course, has to do with where the touching, or groping, took place. It has to be what is considered a “private part” that is touched. Otherwise, it is a simple everyday Massachusetts assault and battery.
The full articles of this story can be found at http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/18888782/detail.html,
