Rey DeJesus Jr.

NASHUA – In mid-November, when police officers responded to a downtown city apartment after a resident called to report a man allegedly banging on doors looking for a young woman, they were about to learn about a much more serious set of allegations involving the suspect.

Nearly two months earlier, the officers were told, the same man – Rey DeJesus Jr., 37, of 8 Forge Drive – allegedly sexually assaulted the young woman, but she hadn’t yet reported the allegations to police because, a family member said, she was not yet ready to make “an official report.”

Four days later, however, according to police reports, the young woman, who is 18, was ready to file an official report, at which time she was interviewed by detectives.

She told police that on the night of Sept. 22, DeJesus, who is considered a “family friend,” showed up and began knocking on her bedroom door. After awhile, the woman said, she let him in, at which time, according to police reports, DeJesus allegedly sexually assaulted her “with force (and) without consent.”

At some point, police said, a family member discovered DeJesus in the woman’s room, and promptly kicked him out of the house – but, police said, he left his phone behind.

After he left, the family member took the alleged victim to the hospital, where a sexual assault nurse examiner, or SANE nurse, conducted a detailed examination. She reportedly confided in some friends, but opted not to file the police report at that time.

As their investigation continued, police interviewed DeJesus, who had a much different account of the alleged incident.

He told police the woman “invited him” to her room to “smoke weed,” and soon began “flirting” with him. DeJesus said the woman allegedly tried to get him to perform a sex act upon her, and although he was “reluctant,” he said he “went along” with it, according to police reports.

After further investigation, police issued a warrant for DeJesus’s arrest. When they called him to tell him about the warrant, DeJesus, who works as a framer, was on a job site in Maine.

But he agreed to return to Nashua the next day to turn himself in, which he did, according to Attorney Carl Olson, who represented DeJesus at Tuesday’s arraignment and bail hearing in Hillsborough County Superior Court-South.

Charged with three counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault, DeJesus entered not guilty pleas at the hearing, at which Olson asked Judge William Delker for personal recognizance bail for DeJesus.

Describing DeJesus as the “breadwinner” of his family, Olson rejected prosecutors’ suggestion that he poses a flight risk or a danger to the community.

Prosecutors, however, recommended DeJesus be jailed on preventive detention, calling the alleged incident “a pretty violent assault” that left the woman with bruises.

They cited his numerous arrests through the years, some in New Hampshire but many in Massachusetts, including assault and battery of a child, kidnapping and assault with a dangerous weapon.

The alleged victim “is extremely worried” that DeJesus would violate the no-contact order she has against him, and is “concerned for her safety,” prosecutors said.

Delker agreed, and ordered DeJesus held on preventive detention. Olson requested an evidentiary hearing, which the court scheduled for March 4 in the Nashua court.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256, or at dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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