‘I Didn't Know What to Do': 13-Year-Old Recalls Abduction, Rape

A 13-year-old Massachusetts girl is speaking out after being kidnapped and raped in Lawrence.

The child spoke exclusively with necn after a man she didn't know grabbed her off the street while she was walking to school and ripped her life apart.

Angel Mateo, 21, of Phillips Street, was charged with rape of a child with force and kidnapping. He was ordered held without bail at his arraignment Friday in Lawrence District Court.

"As soon as I saw him, he was on the porch of his house," the victim, whose identity is being concealed, told necn.

The young girl was on the phone walking to school when it started.

"I was like, 'Hold on a second, I'm going to call you back,'" she recalled. "When I hung up the phone, right in that moment, that's when he grabbed me."

The girl told police Mateo forcibly carried her into a nearby apartment and raped her.

According to police, the attack lasted approximately two hours. The child's attacker eventually let her go.

"I walked to the back of the school," she told necn. "I called my mom and she told me to stay there, but I couldn't. I didn't have nobody. I didn't know what to do."

The victim was treated and released from a local hospital. After Mateo's arrest, her mother encouraged her to tell her story.

"I actually feel a little bit saved, but I keep thinking about what he did," she said. "It makes me, like, terrible inside."

Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said Mateo was on probation, wearing an ankle bracelet and lived near the school. He was not a sex offender. Rivera says now he's taking steps to look at all people with ankle bracelets. 

"I think to be safe, and in an abundance of caution, I am asking our police department to gather a list of everyone in our community on an ankle bracelet," Rivera said. "We will review the list and see what level of threat our police believe them to be, and also see if they live near or around any schools." 

The mayor added that he and the police chief will let local and federal corrections authorities know their concerns.  Rivera also said the incident was "not a random event."

Mateo was charged with assault with intent to rape and assault and battery in connection with another incident that occurred on May 28, 2016.

Following coverage of the incident on Thursday, a 27-year-old woman reported to the Lawrence Police that she believed it was Mateo who allegedly attacked her in May. 

She initially reported the attack at the time it occurred.