Massachusetts college employee charged with soliciting prospective student for sex denied bail
A federal judge has denied bail to a former assistant admissions director at Emmanuel College in Boston charged with soliciting a prospective student for sex after she came to the school for a tour in April and he allegedly accessed her personal data.
"It's just crazy to think that somebody like that could be on campus," said student Kelsey Rioux who received an email from the school informing students of the case.
Jacob Henriques, 29, was arrested last Friday and went before a judge Wednesday for a bail hearing in which the defense requested home confinement and a GPS monitoring device.
"Obsessive and predatory"
The judge called his behavior "obsessive and predatory" as she ordered him held.
Federal prosecutors say over the past year Henriques allegedly solicited as many as 16 young women, offering the 17-year-old he's charged with $400 to "have some fun" while sending pornographic material.
"There are no conditions of release that will ensure the safety of the community," argued prosecutor Craig Estes. He says Henriques relentlessly texted the 17-year-old until she blocked his phone and he allegedly started emailing.
Estes said Henriques also tried to obstruct justice by breaking his cellphone and throwing it in the trash before investigators arrived at his Boston apartment to question him. It was at that time, he says, Henriques confessed to his behavior.
Mother says daughter "living in fear"
The mother of one of his alleged victims pleaded with the judge to hold Henriques saying, "My daughter is living in fear, and the possibility of his release intensifies the fear not only for her but her entire family."
The Department of Justice says the arrest of Henriques was part of a wider federal probe named Operation Restore Justice to track and arrest alleged child sexual predators. The DOJ says more than 200 arrests were made from April 28 to May 2.