Thursday, February 10, 2011

Suppression sought in fitting-room assault case

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — Alleging a violation of his constitutional right to
remain silent, a Charlton man accused of sexually assaulting a 13-
year-old boy in the fitting room of a department store in Sturbridge is
asking a judge to suppress incriminating statements attributed to him
by police.

Francisco W. Barros-Gomes, 27, of 81 J. Davis Road, Charlton, is
awaiting trial in Worcester Superior Court on child rape aggravated by
age difference and indecent assault and battery on a child charges
stemming from an alleged sexual assault Nov. 24, 2009, at the J.C.
Penney department store on Route 131 in Sturbridge, where he then
worked as a sales assistant.

Authorities said a 13-year-old boy was trying on clothing in a fitting
room at the store when he was sexually assaulted by Mr. Barros-
Gomes. Mr. Barros-Gomes entered the dressing room after offering to
bring clothing for the boy to try on, according to prosecutors, who said
the boy's mother had stepped away momentarily to make a telephone
call.

Mr. Barros-Gomes' lawyer, James J. Gribouski, filed a motion Dec. 29
asking the court to preclude prosecutors from using his client's
statement to police as evidence at his trial. A hearing on the motion to
suppress evidence is scheduled for Feb. 25.

According to Mr. Gribouski's motion, Sturbridge police failed to honor
Mr. Barros-Gomes' right to end the videotaped interview with them
after he informed them he wanted the questioning to stop and to be
allowed to go home.

Mr. Gribouski further alleges that officers coerced his client into
making inculpatory statements by suggesting they could get him help
if he cooperated with them.

"When an official gives assurance that a confession will aid the
defense in order to obtain a statement, he steps over the permissible
line in inducing a confession. The remedy is suppression," the defense
lawyer wrote.

Assistant District Attorney Terry J. McLaughlin has not yet filed his
written opposition to the motion.

Mr. Barros-Gomes, who has pleaded not guilty, is free on $15,000
cash bail that was posted when his case was pending in Dudley
District Court. He is under GPS monitoring and has been ordered by
the court to have no unsupervised contact with children under age 16.

Mr. Barros-Gomes is facing a minimum mandatory 10-year prison
term if convicted of the child rape aggravated by age difference
charge.