Cambridge Teen Arrested for Brutal Attack, Attempted Rape in East Watertown

Watertown Police arrested a 16-year-old man from Cambridge for a brutal attack of a woman as she walked to her East Watertown home from the bus stop.

The woman had just gotten off an MTBA bus on Belmont Street and was walking down Prentiss Street on March 7 just before 9 p.m. when the suspect attacked her, said Watertown Police Lt. Michael Lawn. The man wore a skull Halloween mask over his face during the attack.

"She was pushed down from behind and was struck in the head numerous times," Lawn said. "He said, 'Give me what you've got.'"

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She gave him her cell phone and wallet, but the man continued to hit her, Lawn said. 

"He then dragged her by the arm down a driveway and said he had a gun," Lawn said. "He told her to take off her clothes and took off the mask. She began screaming and the suspect fled."

The woman described the attacker as a black male wearing a hooded jacket or sweatshirt, Lawn said. 

Watertown defectives discovered a nearby business had security footage showing the attacker, Lawn said. They also discovered he had used the stolen credit cards at a number of stores in Cambridge.

Police alerted police departments in the area to the attack and sent over the security pictures. Saturday morning, Cambridge Police arrested the suspect for domestic assault and battery, Lawn said.

"The suspect was identified as the involved in the Watertown incident," Lawn said. 

On Saturday, Watertown Police got a search warrant and with the help of Cambridge Police, recovered the woman's cell phone, credit cards and other items from her wallet, Lawn said. On Monday, Watertown Police got an arrest warrant for the for the attack in Watertown, but since he was already in custody he was not re-arrested.

The suspect, who was not named because he is a juvenile, faces charges of armed robbery while being masked, assault and battery, kidnapping, and assault with intent to rape, Lawn said. 

The suspect awaits a dangerousness hearing in Cambridge Juvenile Court, Lawn said.