Nov 25, 2009 6:57 pm US/Eastern
JC Penney Worker Charged In Changing Room Rape
STURBRIDGE (WBZ) ―
-
-
Francisco Wellington Barros-Gomes
Sturbridge Police Department/WBZ
A department store worker has been charged with raping a child in a changing room in Sturbridge.
It allegedly happened Tuesday evening at the JCPenney on Route 131.
26-year-old Francisco Wellington Barros-Gomes of Charlton is charged with indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and rape of a child with force.
Around 5 p.m., police say Barros-Gomes was at work in the store's children's department when a mother left her son in a dressing room to go make a phone call. "The defendant became engaged in a conversation with the young man, offering to bring some clothes he could try on," prosecutors said in court on Wednesday as Barros-Gomes sat in a stairwell and listened to the charges. "As the conversation continued, the defendant was inside the dressing room with the young man."
That's when prosecutors say Barros-Gomes attacked – raping the boy in the dressing room.
JC Penney said it did do a background check on Barros-Gomes, but wouldn't give further details. "JCPenney is taking this accusation extremely seriously and is fully cooperating with the police in their investigation," spokesman Tim Lyons said in a statement to WBZ.
According to prosecutors, Barros-Gomes is a Brazilian national and is married, but he has only been in the country for 10 months. Court documents say he is not a U.S. citizen.
Bail was set at $25,000 after Barros-Gomez pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Make your voice heard. Click here to comment on this story and read comments left by others.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments