Dracut man accused of breaking into home, attacking woman
TYNGSBORO >> A Dracut man is behind bars for allegedly forcing his way into a Tyngsboro home during the middle of the night and viciously attacking a female acquaintance in an attempt to rape her.
Tyngsboro Police reports state James Garon, 50, is accused of assaulting the woman as she slept inside her home on Coolidge Drive, allegedly tearing out her hair as she tried to escape.
Garon, who was taken into custody by police shortly after the alleged crime occurred, is charged with assault with intent to rape, breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony, indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older, assault and battery, suffocation, and intimidation of a witness.
Lowell District Court documents show Garon had recently been released from prison for a similar crime that occurred in Pelham, N.H. in 2019.
Police reports state officers were called to Coolidge Drive by the alleged victim shortly before 3:15 a.m. Sunday. The alleged victim, who was alone at the time of the incident, told police she was sleeping in her bedroom when she heard footsteps inside the home.
Moments later, she claimed an intoxicated Garon removed the covers from her bed and jumped on her, stating he wanted to have sex, according to police reports.
The alleged victim told police that Garon groped her, as she yelled at him to stop and tried to fight him off. She said at one point during the alleged attack, Garon placed his hands over her mouth and nose, preventing her from breathing.
“She continued saying she believed he was ‘too drunk’ to perform what he wanted but she fully believed the intention was there,” police reports state.
According to the alleged victim’s account to police, Garon dragged her off the bed and onto the floor, and grasped her hair in an attempt to prevent her from getting away. She said she eventually escaped the bedroom, and fled to a neighbor’s home.
“(The alleged victim) stated Jim chased her outside and said, ‘I’m going back to jail,'” police reports state.
Police reported the woman had rug burns on her knees and small scratches on her face. Police said she also complained of neck pain and a headache, while “chunks” of her hair fell out as she was interviewed by officers.
Photos from the scene of the alleged crime showed a disheveled bedroom, including a broken glass and a fallen lamp. A photo also showed a clump of the woman’s hair on the floor.
Police said the alleged victim was “visibly upset and hysterically crying.”
“She told me she could not believe this happened to her and she was ‘shocked to be alive,'” a police officer wrote in the report.
While investigating the scene, police said they located Garon inside the woman’s home, where he was passed out on a couch and allegedly reeking of alcohol.
During questioning, police reports state Garon provided conflicting accounts of the incident. He at first claimed he had been sleeping all night, but then told officers he had gotten into a “brief argument” with the alleged victim over them “fooling around in the bed.” Garon also initially claimed he had been invited to the home, but then told police the alleged victim might have been unaware he was visiting.
He also alleged the door to the residence he entered was unlocked, while the alleged victim claimed he had broken a door to gain entry to the home.
Garon was taken into custody at the scene.
The alleged victim declined medical attention, and also turned down the option to file an emergency harassment order, but added “she was scared” and did not want Garon to be released from custody.
According to the alleged
victim’s account to police, Garon had been released from prison a few months before this alleged incident.
Court documents state Garon had pleaded guilty in Hillsboro County Superior Court Southern District, in Nashua, N.H., in September 2019 to burglary, attempted witness tampering and attempted violation of a protective order.
According to the paperwork, the charges stem from an incident in April 2019, when Garon
entered the home of another acquaintance, who had a restraining order against him, and forced her to have sex with him at knifepoint. Court documents state Garon told police at the time that the sexual encounter was consensual.
Garon was arraigned on his latest charges in Lowell District Court on Monday. Judge Daniel Crane held the Dracut man without bail pending a 58A dangerousness hearing, which
took place the same day.
Following the dangerousness hearing, Judge Matthew Nestor found Garon poses a threat to the community, and ordered he be held without bail. He is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial conference on June 29.
Garon’s attorney, Brenden Mcmahon, was not immediately available for comment.
Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis