Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog
Nathan P. Williams, a 19-year-old Framingham man (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) is in a great deal of trouble. Tomorrow, he is scheduled to return to court for a Massachusetts Dangerousness Hearing. Earlier this week, he was arraigned in district court on charges that he kidnapped and raped a 15-year-old girl at knifepoint in the woods near her home on April third.
According to prosecutors, the Defendant waited around Gorman Road in Framingham until a certain school bus pulled up. The girl (hereinafter, the “Girl”) got off the bus. Then, the Defendant is said to have threatened her with the knife and forced her into a wooded, swampy area. There, according to prosecutors, he raped her.
According to the prosecution, the Girl did not know the Defendant.
“He indicated to her to come here, he wanted her to come with him,” the prosecutor argued at the bail hearing. “He walked into what was considered to be a thickly dense area. He directed her to a secluded spot … [He] proceeded to sexually assault the child in a number of different ways.” The prosecutor also alleged that investigators found “biological matter” on evidence they collected. This material is said to have matched the Defendant’s DNA.
Incidentally, it is a marvelous occurrence that the Commonwealth has such striking evidence so soon. Normally, they claim it takes months to get such conclusive data. Perhaps it was the magic of a high-profile case. Or, perhaps even, as the song goes, “It Ain’t Necessarily So”.
But I digress.
Further search, this time of the Defendant’s last known address, is said to have revealed clothing that matched the description given both by the girl and other witnesses of what the Defendant was allegedly wearing at the time of the attack.
The Defendant’s present lawyer has announced that his client is innocent and that there may be a misidentification in the case. Perhaps heralding this disclosure is the fact that the Defendant covered his face with a gray T-shirt and ducked out of sight below the rail of the prisoner’s dock during the bail hearing.
The Defendant’s not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf to charges of aggravated rape and aggravated kidnapping and he was ordered held without bail until Friday’s hearing.
According to the Commonwealth, this is not the Defendant’s first time in the criminal justice trenches. He apparently already had an assault and battery charge pending for an alleged fight with his brother in October, and previously faced sexual assault charges as a juvenile.
By the way, in case anyone is interested…that would indicate that he has never been convicted of a crime. In the meantime, however, the defense attorney tells us that the Defendant has attended some College, although the lawyer is not sure if he had a job.
At Friday’s hearing, the defense attorney says that he will argue that the Defendant is not a danger. Quote he, “One would think that one would not be a danger because one didn’t do it.”
Yes, one would. Not someone with a great deal of experience in Massachusetts criminal justice, however.
Attorney Sam’s Take On The Reality Of Massachusetts Dangerousness
“Hey, Sam, I am a little confused. I thought this Attorney Sam’s Take was going to be about female defendants in the Massachusetts criminal justice system.”
Well, as you may have heard, tax season is upon us. As one who has now spent enough time doing his taxes, I must admit that my mind is a little “numbered out”. I am afraid I am going to have to pass this confusion on to you.
True, in my last posting, I told you that my then-next blog would continue my posting about females as defendants in the Massachusetts criminal justice system. Then, yesterday came and went. Along came this story. In an effort to remain timely, and perhaps impart some advice to present defense counsel, I am going to post the rape story today, leaving the story from my last blog to continue on tomorrow’sblog. Today’s posting(s) will therefore be this story about an arraignment from the day before yesterday. Incidentally, the matter will return to court tomorrow…when I will be returning to the story I began on my last blog.
It’s all very simple, really.
Oh! One more thing, though. My comments of this case are really in my next blog…posted within the hour.
To read the original story upon this blog is based, please go http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2013/04/09/framingham-police-charge-year-old-man-with-raping-year-old-girl-knifepoint/rR0jeMxoC8hSvzm16uqbuI/story.html
