Man Arraigned for Sexual Assault of Child on MBTA

BOSTON, May 26, 2022—An Allston man was arraigned this week on charges he groped a four-year-old child at the Park Street MBTA station, District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.

GEORGE FRANCOIS, 66, was arraigned Tuesday in the Central Division of Boston Municipal Court on a charge of indecent assault and battery of a child under 14 after a court clinician deemed him competent to take part in the proceeding.  Prosecutors requested $5,000 bail and orders that the defendant stay away from the MBTA, stay away from and have no contact with the victim or witnesses and have no unsupervised contact with minors. Prosecutors also filed a motion for a protective order to impound victim and witness identifying information. Judge Mark H. Summerville set the requested $5,000 bail, imposed the condition that the defendant stay away from and not contact victims or witnesses and allowed the motion to impound.

At approximately 9:10 p.m. Friday, May 20, officers responded to a call from a 7-11 located at 1227 Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. The caller told officers that at around 7:30 p.m., she and her son were waiting for a westbound train at the Park Street MBTA station. Her son was playing with a suction cup ball that had stuck to the wall when an unknown man, later identified as Francois, grabbed the child’s buttocks and pushed him closer to the wall. Francois removed the ball from the wall and gave it to the victim. The victim’s mother attempted to confront him and took his photograph with her phone before he exited the area.

The victim and his mother boarded a train. When the mother noticed that Francois was also on the train, she exited the train with her son and entered the 7-11. The defendant followed them inside and attempted to hand something to the victim. She confronted him and told him not to touch her son. He then fled.

Boston Police were able to identify Francois and located him outside of his apartment building.  Officers observed that he was wearing the same outfit in the photograph. He allegedly made statements admitting to groping the child.

While the victims and witnesses of any crime should call 911 in an emergency, there are additional resources available to report suspected crimes against children. In Suffolk County, survivors of child abuse and exploitation and their non-offending caretakers can receive comprehensive services at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County. The CAC can be reached at 617-779-2146.  Survivors may also contact the Child Protection Unit at the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office at 617-619-4300. Anyone who believes that a child in Massachusetts may be the victim of abuse can call the Department of Children and Families’ Child at Risk Hotline at 1-800-792-5200. Those concerned that a child is being exploited online may report a Cybertip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST or www.cybertipline.com.

Francois returns to court on June 17 for a pretrial hearing.

 James Borghesani, Chief of Communications

All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.