Man tried to put chemical-laced handkerchief on boy’s mouth in “bizarre” assault, D.A. alleges
WBZ, BOSTON POLICE, CNN
By Neal J. Riley, Neal J. Riley
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BOSTON, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A 69-year-old Boston man is accused of trying to place a chemical-laced handkerchief over the mouth of a 13-year-old boy in what prosecutors are calling a “bizarre” assault.
“It’s basically like facing your biggest fear. Like the way the guy was looking too,” the boy told WBZ-TV Monday. “My heart was beating fast and stuff. I was really scared.”
The incident happened in Roxbury at the corner of Dudley and Washington streets on July 28, shortly after noon. Willie Cowart, of Dorchester, was arrested and charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon (chemical handkerchief), the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said. Cowart pleaded not guilty to the charge in court last Wednesday.
The boy said he’s still shaken. His parents did not want him identified.
“I was kind of scared because it was like my first time this ever happened to me and I’ve been seeing this on like the TV so many times about people getting kidnapped and stuff so yeah I was kind of scared,” the boy said.
According to prosecutors, the boy told police he was waiting for a ride on a street corner “when an older man wearing a Hawaiian shirt approached, poured an unknown liquid on a red handkerchief, and tried to put the handkerchief over his mouth.”
“And tried to put it in my face, so I push him and then I go tell the police in the station,” the teen said.
Officers found Cowart wearing a Hawaiian shirt and carrying a red handkerchief shortly after, the district attorney’s office said, and the boy positively identified him.
Cleaning chemicals found in car
Police searched Cowart’s car and found chemical cleaning agents inside, according to prosecutors.
“This is a strange, and extremely disturbing, set of facts,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement Monday. “It doesn’t take much imagination to appreciate how frightening it was for this young man to be standing on a street corner and suddenly be accosted in such a bizarre manner. I’m grateful that he suffered no apparent injuries.”
A judge released Cowart on personal recognizance and ordered him to stay away from the victim and the area where the alleged assault occurred.
The teen’s parents won’t let him go anywhere now.
“I can’t go outside. My mom told me until I’m 20, to go outside by myself when school is finished, I can’t stay after school,” he said.
Cowart is due back in court on Oct. 29 for an appointment of counsel hearing, which a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office said could be related to a court-appointed attorney work stoppage.
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