Healey: Alleged migrant shelter rapist was here via federal program

A man charged with allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl at an emergency shelter housing migrants in Rockland entered the U.S. through a federal program, Gov. Maura Healey said Friday.

Cory B. Alvarez, 26, of Haiti, is accused of raping the girl, also from Haiti, at the Comfort Inn at 850 Hingham St. on Wednesday. The hotel is serving as a shelter for migrant families, and Alvarez and the victim had been living there. 

According to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz’s office, Alvarez was arrested around 7 p.m. after police received a report of a sexual assault, and the victim identified Alvarez as her attacker. The girl was taken to South Shore Hospital for treatment.

Alvarez pleaded not guilty to child rape at his arraignment Thursday in Hingham District Court and was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing set for March 22.

At a Worcester event Friday, Healey said Alvarez was in the country under a federal program but didn’t specify the program. According to a Boston Globe report, Healey also said Alvarez went through a state background check and an additional check on all migrants entering Massachusetts shelters. Alvarez also didn’t have any past offenses on a sex offender registry. 

Critics have used the incident as an example of what they deem as the state’s struggle to safely manage the flow of migrants into Massachusetts communities. 

Healey defended the state’s safety protocols regarding the shelter of migrant families and said state officials are “deploying all that we can in terms of vetting individuals,” according to the Globe report. 

“We have the right systems in place. It is unfortunate that from time to time, things will happen … not just in shelter, but anywhere,” Healey said.

The state had already deployed members of the National Guard to the Rockland Comfort Inn, and the hotel is required to provide round-the-clock front desk staffing.

“Again, we don’t know the specifics of this case, but we take all allegations of sexual assault most seriously,” Healey said. “My heart goes out to the victim, the alleged victim in this case, and her family. We need to let the criminal justice system do its work.”

Alvarez was ordered to surrender his passport and have no contact with the victim while in custody. 

Morgan Rousseau

Morgan Rousseau is a freelance writer for Boston.com, where she reports on a variety of local and regional news.

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