Lawrence man accused of sexually assaulting 13-year-old girl held without bail

LAWRENCE, MASS. (WHDH) - A Lawrence man who has been charged with kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old girl while she walked to school has been held without bail.

Angel Mateo, 21, was arraigned on kidnapping and statutory rape charges in court today after he allegedly kidnapped and raped a 13-year-old girl who was walking to school in Lawrence on Thursday.

7News has learned that the man also has an open extortion case against him, in a case where he was accused of threatening to send obscene pictures.

Mateo was on pre-trial probation and wore an ankle GPS-monitoring bracelet.

Police said they responded to a report of an abduction and sexual assault of a middle school student just after 10 a.m. Thursday.

The girl, a student at South Lawrence Middle School, told police she was walking to school near Boxford and Phillips streets when she was grabbed from behind by a man she did not know. The girl told police he forcibly carried her to an apartment on Phillips Street, where he raped her.

Police said the suspect held her against her will for more than two hours and then released her, threatening to find her if she told police.

The girl eventually made it to school where she told a teacher and contacted her mother. Police said the girl was very critical in helping them pinpoint who the suspect was by describing the interior of the suspect’s home in detail. Police called the girl a “courageous young person.”

The girl was taken to the hospital, where she was treated and released. Later Thursday, the school also alerted parents through a voicemail.

Mateo’s landlords said they were in the process of evicting him and two other people who live with him, saying they are noisy at night and play loud music. Neighbors said police always seemed to be at his apartment.

Lawrence Police say they plan to review the list of those in the community with ankle bracelets to see if they live near or around schools in an effort to keep dangerous criminals out of neighborhoods.

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