REVERE SEX ASSAULT A ‘SCARY’ SCENARIO
Suspect targeted teen girl, cops say
State police are turning to the public for help identifying a man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl at Revere Beach and say their suspect may have been stalking other women before the attack.
The victim told police a young adult male approached her while she was using an outdoor shower at the Shirley Avenue bathhouse about 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to police. When she tried to get away, the girl told state police he grabbed her, prevented her from leaving, and sexually assaulted her.
The suspect investigators are looking for has been identified as “a lightskinned Hispanic male with his hair braided tightly against his scalp,” state police spokesman David Procopio said.
“Further information suggests he is approximately six feet tall with a slender build,” Procopio said. “Yesterday, prior to the sexual assault, he may have been wearing a dark-colored tank top and black shorts and riding a mountain bike on and near Revere Beach.”
Investigators also believe the suspect may have been following a different young woman down the beach earlier in the afternoon and may have caught up to the woman and tried to speak with her, Procopio said.
“We also now know that, at the time of the sexual assault ... there were many people on the beach near the Shirley Avenue bathhouse,” Procopio said, urging anyone who may have seen any part of the incident to contact state police at 508-820-2121.
A small piece of police tape could be seen wrapped around an outdoor showerhead at the bathhouse yesterday afternoon. Beachgoers said they were shocked to hear that a young girl was attacked in broad daylight.
“I am a mom of three and it’s devastating,” said Maria Marchio-Romei, standing just steps from the bathhouse. “It shouldn’t happen anywhere, let alone on a beautiful beach in the summer with young kids. It’s sad.”
Her daughter, 15-year-old Marialda Romei, added “it’s definitely scary to know that’s happening around here and at that early a time.”
Nadia Marchio, 29, said she was not shocked to hear of the reported assault.
“I feel like this area needs to be cleaned up. I feel like there is a lot of trouble here at night time, in this area in Revere in particular, and it’s unfortunate,” she said. “It’s not a place to be at night time if you’re a girl, and this wasn’t even that late.”