The Cape and Islands district attorney’s office has declined to prosecute a Dorchester man charged with two counts of rape that allegedly occurred aboard a Steamship Authority ferry in early June, according to a recent court filing.
Bruno S. DeJesus, 20, of Dorchester was arraigned on two counts of rape in Falmouth district court on June 8 after an alleged sexual assault that occurred in the back of a box truck on an afternoon ferry traveling from Martha’s Vineyard to Woods Hole.
The victim was a 19-year-old woman, according to releases from state police and the district attorney’s office.
A probable cause hearing in the case was scheduled for Tuesday, June 29, with bail in the case set at $25,000.
But on June 24, assistant district attorney Jessica Croker filed a short motion in Falmouth district court to not prosecute the case . The motion was accepted by the Hon. Paul Pino on the same day, according to a district court clerk reached by phone Tuesday and a copy of the docket provided to the Gazette.
In an email to the Gazette, a spokesman for the district attorney Michael O’Keefe briefly elaborated on the decision to drop the case.
“After consultation with the victim and her family, the commonwealth filed a Nolle Prosequi,” spokesman Tara Miltimore wrote.
The DA’s office provided no further explanation for the decision.
According to a statement of facts provided by Ms. Croker in court earlier in June, Mr. DeJesus, a passenger in an appliance delivery truck, was arrested in Bourne after the victim informed police about the assault when the ferry docked in Woods Hole.
The statement of facts alleged that Mr. De Jesus had met the victim on the concession deck of the ferry, before proceeding to the freight deck.
An attorney for Mr. De Jesus disputed the facts of the case presented in court, and requested the DA’s office and Steamship Authority preserve video and cell phone evidence.
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