Crime & Safety

Lynn Man Arraigned for Alleged Assault on Young Girl in Marblehead

A Lynn man accused of inappropriately grabbing a young girl on Atlantic Avenue Sunday morning denied charges in court Monday.

A Lynn man accused of inappropriately grabbing a young girl while she walked with her mother on Atlantic Avenue Sunday night was ordered held on $2,500 cash bail Monday.

James A. Murphy, 29, of 47 Lexington St., Lynn, pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon in Lynn District Court to a charge of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14.

At 7:20 p.m., local police received word that a heavy-set drunk bald man had just fled from the area of CVS after allegedly grabbing a young girl inappropriately while she was walking near The Fen Yang House on Atlantic Avenue with her mother.

Find out what's happening in Marbleheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Responding officers were reportedly flagged down by a man on Commercial Street who said he chased the suspect to a nearby apartment building when he heard about the incident.

While searching the rear of the building, police reportedly located a man matching a description provided by the alleged victim in an upstairs apartment and noted that he was "sweating, breathing heavy" and "smelled heavily of alcohol," according to court documents.

Find out what's happening in Marbleheadwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The mother of the alleged victim reportedly told police that she and her daughter had been shopping at CVS and were on their way to the Fen Yang House for dinner when Murphy stumbled down the street toward them, intentionally blocked their path and grabbed the front of her daughter's shorts.

After the incident, the pair reportedly fled across the street to CVS and asked an employee there to call 911.

Once under arrest, Murphy reportedly began singing songs, yelling at people passing by and spit twice on the police cruiser's plastic divider, according to court documents.

The alleged victim, the mother and the man who allegedly chased Murphy down Commercial Street identified him as the suspect and he was transported to the station for booking, according to police.

Judge Albert Conlon set Murphy's bail at $2,500 on the condition that he stay away from and have no contact with the alleged victim and have no contact with children under 17 except for family members.

Murphy had not posted bail as of Tuesday afternoon. He is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on Nov. 28.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.