One suspect has pleaded not guilty to the assault and rape of a student at Massasoit Community College on the Brockton, Massachusetts, campus.
On Monday, a female student reported she was sexually assaulted last Friday. Brockton Police arrested 22-year-old Eliphete Pierre of Stoughton on Wednesday in connection to that assault.
Pierre plead not guilty to rape and indecent assault and battery charges at his arraignment in Brockton District Court.
Police allege that the victim and Pierre went into the woods near the business building on campus to smoke marijuana when Pierre began kissing the victim and touching her private parts. Police say she told him "no" repeatedly, before running away and leaving her backpack behind.
The defense says that Pierre stopped touching the victim when she appeared uneasy and tried to return her backpack to her, in addition to helping her up the hill from the woods. Pierre's defense also said the victim never got medical treatment, didn't got to the police until three days after the alleged assault and claimed she suffers from depression from a past sexual assault. His defense also said the reason she claimed rape was because Pierre denied her a serious relationshiop.
"Perhaps that's where this allegation is coming from," defense attorney Jennifer Gonzalez said.
The prosecution and defense agreed that the victim was not able to pick out the suspect from an array of photos from police.
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Bail was set at $25,000 for Pierre. If he posts bail, he is required to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet and stay away from the victim. In addition, the judge ordered that Pierre surrender his passport.
Pierre is a student at the college and has been banned from campus indefinitely.
He will appear in court on Oct. 20 for a probable cause hearing.
On Tuesday, school officials received another report from a female student that she was attacked in a hallway in the business building Monday night. Brockton Police do not believe the incidents are related.
