Case Dropped Against Man Charged With February North End Assault

BOSTON (CBS) --- The Suffolk County District Attorney has thrown out the case against a North End man arrested in connection with a February sexual assault.

Ross Currier, 26, was arrested last month and charged in the Unity Street assault.

Prosecutors moved to terminate the case Wednesday, citing new evidence.

In a press conference Wednesday evening, Currier and his attorney Thomas Merrigan spoke out about the arrest.

"It's nice to hear the charges are dismissed, but the manner in which they were dismissed is unacceptable. I'm an innocent person, my record should reflect that," Currier said. "I certainly feel someone needs to step forward and take responsibility for what happened here. The lack of due diligence by the police and everyone along the way, this could have been prevented. The fact no one has come forward to admit their mistakes is alarming."

Currier would not rule out the possibility of a civil suit. Fortunately, Currier said he was able to keep his job and professional license during the ordeal.

"I don't wish this on anyone. It's not fun," he said. "Every night sitting there, things start to go back to normal for you and you look down and you're wearing a degrading GPS bracelet that I had to wear for a month for no reason."

When WBZ-TV's Beth Germano asked Currier if he's concerned his name will never be cleared, he answered: "Google it, see what you find."

In the filing, prosecutors wrote that the continued investigation "reveals that the evidence does not support the charges."

"Attorney Merrigan is a good man and he's fighting for his client who has been through a difficult ordeal," Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley said in a statement. "We hope he recognizes that this office also fought to uncover every piece of evidence that spoke to the truth and once we did we moved to drop the case. Our filing is a standard legal device that lays out the evidence and makes abundantly clear our belief that that Mr. Currier did not commit the acts for which police arrested him."

Boston Police arrested Currier after the victim in the Feb. 15 assault called police to report that she saw her assailant playing basketball.  That man was Currier, who lives nearby.

In a post-Miranda statement, Currier provided police with an alibi that prosecutors shared with defense counsel and the court at his arraignment the next day.

Prosecutors also relayed information from police that the victim had earlier identified in a photo array another person who was incarcerated at the time of the offense.

As a result, prosecutors did not seek monetary bail and instead requested that he wear a GPS device while the case was pending. The judge in the case requested additional information.

Further investigation since Currier's arrest showed no evidence that Currier was involved in the assault, according to the DA.

Police also investigated a March assault in the North End that was similar to the February attack. During the March assault, Currier was wearing a GPS bracelet and did not commit the attack, police said.

Police also said the suspect in the February attack took a photograph of the victim with his phone before fleeing.

Currier's phone records revealed no stored nor deleted photos of the attack, according to the DA.

Police continue to investigate both the February and March assaults in the North End.

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