East Boston man arraigned in connection with child assault

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) – An East Boston man was held on high bail Monday on charges he sexually assaulted a pre-teen girl on Sept. 8, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley said.

Jose Avila, 39, was arraigned on one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 for the incident which occurred on Faywood Avenue. A judge imposed $30,000 bail and ordered Avila be confined to house arrest, wear a GPS monitoring device, and stay away from all children under 17 except his own child.

Authorities are exploring the possibility Avila could be linked to other similar assaults.

An attorney from the District Attorney's Child Protection Unit said the young victim was playing outside with friends when a member of her family told her to come inside. As she gathered her toys, she lost her grip on a toy brush that blew into the street. The girl went to pick it up, but stopped because a car was coming. She waited for the car to pass, but it stopped instead, the attorney said.

A man exited the car, picked up the brush, and gave it to the girl, and as he did so, the man sexually assaulted her, the attorney said. Several children and a neighbor witnessed the incident.

Witnesses told police they had seen the suspect in the neighborhood before, but did not know his name.

Based on interviews and other evidence, detectives on Saturday provided the adult neighbor with a photo array from which he positively identified Avila, prosecutors said.

At this time, however, Avila has been charged only in connection with the Faywood Avenue assault.

Avila will return to court on Oct. 16.

Cox Media Group