Charges against man dropped in February sexual assault

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- Charges against a man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the North End in February have been dropped after new evidence became available, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Ross Currier, 26, was arrested on March 10 in connection to a February 15 sexual assault after the victim reported to police that she saw her assailant playing basketball. Police arrested Currier after the victim identified him as the assailant with 90 to 95 percent certainty, according to a spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's office.

But Currier provided an alibi that was independently corroborated, prosecutors said. Additionally, the suspect in the February 15 sexual assault took photos of the victim, and a forensic examination of his phone showed that Currier's phone did not have any such photos, either stored in the phone or deleted.

Another sexual assault similar to the one in February took place on March 16, and a GPS tracking device Currier agreed to wear while his case was pending cleared him of that assault as well.

Prosecutors stated Tuesday that they were confident the victim was operating in good faith when she identified Currier, and the investigation into both that assault and the March 16 assault remain open.

Federal prosecutor Brad Bailey said, "At the end of the day, I think the dismissal of the charges or the nolle prosequi of the charges, which means they're not going to be pursued, is really the best that he's going to get out of this."

Currier said that he is considering taking legal action to recoup legal fees and he thinks someone should step up and take responsibility for what happened.

"I certainly feel that someone needs to step forward and take responsibility for what has happened here and simply brushing it under the rug and acting like it didn't happen isn't acceptable," he said.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley released the following statement Wednesday:

"Attorney Merrigan is a good man and he's fighting for his client who has been through a difficult ordeal. We hope he recognizes that this office also fought to uncover every piece of evidence that spoke to the truth and once we did we moved to drop the case. Our filing is a standard legal device that lays out the evidence and makes abundantly clear our belief that Mr. Currier did not commit the acts for which police arrested him."

Young women who live and work in the North End like Realtor Katie Beth Clark are on edge due to the recent attacks.

"Especially as a real estate agent it really does concern me because so many of my clients are walking around late. I just really ask everybody, you know, I carry around mace," she said.

Anyone with information on either incident is asked to contact the Boston Police Sexual Assault Unit at 617-343-4400.

Cox Media Group