Man charged with attempted rape, kidnap
Intervention by a Good Samaritan and a tip by the alleged perp’s father led to the arrest of a 23-year-old man charged with groping and attempting to kidnap a woman on a busy street in Burlington, according to police.
At approximately 8:20 p.m. Sunday, Burlington Police received a 911 call from a passing motorist, who pulled over on her way home from work after seeing a woman being dragged away by a man on the Middlesex Turnpike near Great Meadow Road, police said.
The 37-year-old woman was able to get away, but not before she was allegedly assaulted and groped by the man, who was later identified as Tyler Healey, said Burlington Police Chief Thomas P. Browne and Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan in a statement.
“An investigation determined that during the assault, the defendant allegedly grabbed the victim, touched her indecently, and dragged her,” Browne and Ryan said. “The victim’s shirt was also removed during the altercation.”
Police found the woman moments after arriving at the scene. Healey was apparently spooked by the 911 caller — the passing motorist — and ran away before officers arrived, the statement said.
Police launched an investigation but hit a roadblock when the victim said she would not be able to identify her attacker; she had never seen him before, and he was wearing a hood over his head, according to a police report from Woburn District Court.
Police were able to identify the suspect through his father, who walked into the police station hours after the attack, and told officers he had seen his son — who he does not have much contact with — walking in the area around the time of the assault. He had recognized his son from seeing suspect photos while watching the evening news, the report said.
“When I saw the suspect photo on the news, I was 99.9% sure it was Tyler,” his father, Christopher Healey said, according to the police report.
The victim told police Healey was walking behind her, and she told her boyfriend over the phone that she thought she was being followed.
When the victim turned toward the suspect, she said he “lunged towards her and reached fors her genitals,” touching her over her clothing. By the time she was dragged away “in a headlock,” the victim said she was only wearing a bra and pants, the report said.
Healey was arrested Tuesday in Winthrop “after an aggressive investigation,” the DA and police chief said, and charged with assault with intent to rape, attempted kidnapping, assault with intent to commit a felony, and indecent assault and battery.
Healey, who recently lived in Waltham and Newton, pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment in Woburn District Court on Wednesday.
He was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing, which is scheduled for May 17.