Crime

Girl sexually assaulted outside Jamaica Plain restaurant, authorities say

A 31-year-old Melrose man was arrested in the incident.

July 20, 2023

1 minute to read

A girl sitting outside a Jamaica Plain restaurant was sexually assaulted on Monday night, and a 31-year-old Melrose man was arrested in the incident, authorities say.

Boston officers responded to the area near the Jackson Square MBTA bus terminal shortly before 9 p.m. and talked to the teen girl, “who appeared to be distraught,” according to a Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office release.

Per the release:

The girl told police she had been sitting outside a Centre Street restaurant when a man, unknown to her, sat beside her and asked “is the food good here?” The girl told police she felt uncomfortable and moved away from the man, while telling him that she was a minor and not to touch her. The girl said the man, later identified as [Francis] Mwaura, then inserted his hand between her legs.

A witness walked by the girl and man and then heard the girl scream, “He touched me,” according to authorities. Police located Mwaura inside the restaurant, which was not named in the release, and arrested him. He was later held on $1,000 bail after being charged with indecent assault and battery in the Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court.

The girl was taken to Boston Children’s Hospital for evaluation. Mwaura is due back in court Aug. 24.

“I commend this young girl for alerting people around her to what happened and for providing a description of her attacker to police,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in the release. “Everyone has the right and the expectation to go out on a pleasant summer evening in perfect safety.”