SALEM, Mass. — A veteran Salem police lieutenant has been
charged with sexually assaulting a family friend at his home last month.
Lt. Matthew Desmond, 41, who has been on the force for 15
years and a lieutenant for the past nine, is now on paid administrative leave,
said Salem police Capt. Brian Gilligan, the department's internal affairs
officer.
Desmond, who turned himself in after learning of the warrant
issued by Salem police, bowed his head as a not-guilty plea to a single count
of rape was entered on his behalf yesterday during his arraignment in Salem
District Court.
Prosecutor Kate MacDougall said in court that the incident
occurred on June 20 at Desmond's Salem home, where the woman was watching
Desmond's children and her own child, who were all using the pool.
The woman and her husband have been friends with Desmond and
his wife for at least five years and frequented each others' homes, according
to a police report.
The woman told Salem police Capt. Thomas Griffin that at
some point Desmond arrived home and encountered her in the living room, where
he brushed up against her breasts and then reached under her dress, putting his
hand between her legs.
The woman said Desmond made sexually explicit remarks,
telling her, "Stop being a tease," as he touched her and then
penetrated her with a finger, the basis of the rape charge. The woman said she
pushed him off her and yelled, "Get the (expletive) away from me," as
he pleaded, "Come on, come on."
The woman said Desmond then appeared to become panicked,
repeatedly telling her, "Don't say anything."
The woman did not immediately report the allegation, later
telling police that she delayed because she was concerned about the effect on
Desmond's wife. The woman did tell a friend what had happened the following
day.
Following the woman's interview with police, Chief Paul
Tucker placed Desmond on leave, taking his badge and service weapon. During
that process, Desmond allegedly made an unsolicited comment to the effect, "I
do want to say one thing: She came over my house and threatened my wife that if
she takes me back, she's going to the police," according to Griffin's
report.
Defense lawyer Thomas Drechsler cited a statement by a
friend of Desmond, who allegedly told him two months earlier that the woman had
"come on to him."
Drechsler said any contact between the two on June 20 was
consensual.
Drechsler called the allegations "extremely
questionable" and said Desmond "is absolutely, positively denying
this allegation." In court, he questioned the delay in reporting the
alleged incident.
He also challenged the need for bail for Desmond, a lifelong
Salem resident with three children. "His whole career is at stake,"
the lawyer said.
Judge Allen Swan granted the prosecutor's request to set
bail for Desmond at $5,000, with a condition that he have no contact with the
woman while the case is pending. He was expected to post that bail shortly
after the court proceeding.
"The Salem Police Department takes any allegation against
a member of the department very seriously," Tucker said in a statement.
A probable-cause hearing is scheduled for Aug. 15.