Haitian migrant accused of child rape in Rockland sent back to jail after Friday hearing
HINGHAM − The Haitian migrant accused of raping a 15-year-old girl at a Rockland hotel last week will remain in jail following a Friday morning dangerousness hearing.
Cory B. Alvarez, 26, was arraigned on one count of aggravated rape of a child with a 10 year or more age difference March 14 in Hingham District Court, where the dangerousness hearing was held March 22. He has pleaded not guilty. The charge comes with a minimum 10-year prison sentence.
Alvarez could also face deportation.
He has been held without bail at the Plymouth County House of Correction pending the outcome of the dangerousness hearing, and will return there as the case moves forward.
The 15-year-old girl officials say he raped is also a Haitian migrant staying at the hotel. They and others are staying there as part of the state’s right to shelter law that has led to a housing crisis for the state's burgeoning legal migrant population.
In August 2023, Gov. Maura Healey declared a state of emergency due to a "severe" lack of shelters available to the rapidly rising numbers of migrant families arriving in the state, according to a written statement released by the Healey administration.
According to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office, Rockland police responded to a report of the allegation from the Comfort Inn on Hingham Street around 7 p.m. March 13.
'I told him to leave me alone, but he didn’t stop'
The 15-year-old was taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth to undergo a sexual assault investigation. Her clothes were collected as evidence, according to the report.
The girl, who speaks French Creole, told investigators through translators − one who translated French Creole to Spanish and a second who translated the Spanish to English − that Alvarez raped her in his room while she was getting help with using apps on a tablet. She said Alvarez pushed her onto the bed and raped her, according to the police report.
"He raped me," the girl told investigators, according to the police report. “I told him to leave me alone, but he didn’t stop.”
The girl pointed police to the room and pointed him out as her assailant, according to the report.
Alvarez came to the United States from Haiti last summer, according to WCVB, and has been living at the hotel since October while seeking immigration status.
Alvarez was ordered to surrender his passport and have no contact with the victim while in custody.
The case has gained national attention, especially by right-leaning media outlets and has been used in fundraising efforts by former President Donald Trump in his reelection campaign.
More: Rockland rape case gets national attention, stokes anti-migrant sentiment
The day following the arraignment last week, Make America Great Again Inc., a super PAC that supports Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign for president, published Fox News’ coverage of the incident on their website. The coverage stated that Alvarez, a Haitian migrant, was “allowed into the U.S. by a controversial program that allows up to 30,000 migrants a month to fly into the country.”
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Migrant Cory Alvarez remains jailed after detention hearing
