BOSTON (WHDH) - A Malden man charged in connection with a violent sexual assault in Boston’s South End over the weekend has been ordered to undergo a 20-day mental health evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital.
Anthony Smith-Pacheco, 24, was arraigned Tuesday in Boston Municipal Court on charges of assault with intent to rape and indecent assault and battery.
Police arrested Smith-Pacheco on Monday following the alleged assault on a woman at a business on Harrison Avenue around 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Smith-Pacheco allegedly asked out the victim who was unknown to him. When she refused, Smith-Pacheco grabbed the woman by her arms and dragged her to the floor, according to court paperwork. The victim was able to break free and run off.
The violent sexual attack was caught on surveillance camera. Smith-Pacheco’s grandmother alerted investigators and turned him in after the Boston Police Department shared an image of him inside the business.
After hearing from a court clinician, Judge Richard Sinnott ordered that Smith-Pacheco undergo a mental evaluation before returning to court for a dangerousness hearing.
“He was reluctant to discuss his charge but did acknowledge that it was a serious charge,” forensic psychiatrist Jamie Krauss told the court. “He presents with deficits at this point in time. I think that these deficits are consistent with someone who has an intellectual disability.”
The woman who survived the attack wants the public to beware of the fact that similar incidents can happen anywhere at any time.
“I instinctually knew that if I had the power to fight, to run and to report it I could potentially save someone else from a situation like this,” the victim said in a statement. “The bruises will fade, and I hope that my situation can support the idea that it is never the survivor’s fault.”
Smith-Pacheco, who was on probation, is being held without bail.
He is due back in court April 18.
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