Main Street in downtown Plymouth, Massachusetts, is shut for a police investigation Friday night, the department said.
It wasn’t immediately clear what led police to urge the public to avoid the area, or if anyone was hurt, but police s…
Massachusetts
New details on then-Billerica officer’s alleged sexual assault of girl, 15
The former Billerica police officer accused of having a sexual relationship with a teenager and asking her for a sexually explicit image appeared in court Friday, where prosecutors revealed more about the allegations against the man.
Alexander Allen, who resigned from the Billerica Police Department in December and was suspended by Massachusetts’ officer-certifying POST Commission earlier this month, was ordered held on $5,000 bail and told to stay away from Billerica and have no contact with children besides his own two kids, among other conditions. He pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors said in Middlesex Superior Court he spent time getting to know the alleged victim and her family before having oral sex with her in Middlesex County before her 16th birthday.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673, and Massachusetts provides this list of statewide and resources for sexual assault survivors.
The girl “was vulnerable and susceptible to an older man taking advantage of her loneliness and depression,” a prosecutor said, adding, “he began to comfort her, drive her places, take her places, became friendly with her parents.”
After the alleged sexual encounter, the two kept messaging, and Allen would request naked photos and videos of the girl, which she sent, prosecutors said. Investigators found one explicit image of the girl, then 17. And the prosecutor said there was evidence on phones they looked at “that the defendant, after being notified of this investigation, deleted items from his cellphone.”
Allen’s lawyer noted that he lives with his wife and kids in Vermont and “didn’t run from those allegations,” instead speaking about them to the police chief at the time without a lawyer present, at which point he denied the allegations.
Allen was due for another hearing Nov. 13.
Prosecutors have said that Allen told another officer that he had an intimate relationship with the teen, leading to the investigation.
Billerica police have said they first learned of the allegations against Allen on Dec. 3, 2023, and immediately launched an internal affairs investigation. He was placed on leave on Dec. 5 and resigned on Dec. 18, 2023. He had worked for the department since 2018.
A second officer, who has not been named, was also placed on administrative leave in the case, over an investigation into possible violations of departmental policy, according to police.
Under the the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission’s suspension, Allen was required to surrender anything that’s part of law enforcement work, such as his police-issued weapon, uniform and badge. He has a right to appeal.
The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office has said that the charges stem from a sexual relationship Allen had with a 15-year-old girl while he was working as a Billerica police officer in 2023.
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12-foot shark spotted off coast of Chatham
“Sharktober” is on in Massachusetts and researchers are keeping busy.
A 12-foot shark was spotted off the coast of Chatham earlier this month, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.
Dr. Greg Skomal and his team were working in some rough surf off the coast of Chatham when they spotted it. The goal is to record information and images to ID the shark and further research on the species.
“Sharktober” is on! 🦈 Check out Greg Skomal with AWSC in the surf on Chatham Bar. They captured a 12ft shark in clear surf despite tough sea conditions. The ID team is processing the images to ID the shark. Never a dull moment in “Sharktober”! #Sharktober pic.twitter.com/VTp0RsIMfz
— Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (@A_WhiteShark) October 22, 2024
Shark sightings have become a common occurrence along Cape Cod, and activity tends to peak from May to October. Last October there were over 40,000 detections of shark activity – but don’t worry, a single shark is usually detected several thousand times.
