No bail in Route 1 rape case

LYNN – More than 30 members of the Somali community crowded into Lynn District Court on Tuesday to support Faisel Abdi Ibrahim, 36, of Boston who was in court for a dangerousness hearing after he allegedly raped and kidnapped a Nor-theastern University student who jumped out of his vehicle on Route 1.According to Saugus Police Officer Stephen McCarthy’s testimony, he observed a Ford Windstar driving down Route 1 in Saugus in the breakdown lane on Dec. 7 at approximately 2:50 a.m. McCarthy said the vehicle did not have its flashers on and he noticed the passenger’s side door swing open then shut abruptly.According to McCarthy, he came up beside the vehicle and it pulled into the breakdown lane. McCarthy said when the vehicle was still moving a female jumped out and ran toward his marked police cruiser.”She was hysterical,” he said. “She was visibly upset and crying.”McCarthy said the woman told him she was a student at Northeastern University and was trying to get a cab home when Ibrahim picked her up. According to McCarthy, Ibrahim showed the alleged victim his Boston taxicab license and offered to give her a ride.McCarthy said the victim told him Ibrahim kissed her and put his hand down her pants then digitally penetrated her and forced her to perform oral sex on him.ADA Christina Ronan said Ibrahim has a prior record for an assault and battery on his pregnant wife and he poses a danger to the victim and community as a whole. She asked he be held without bail.”There is no condition of release that can keep the victim and community safe,” she said. “The victim was in so much fear she was trying to jump out of a moving vehicle on the highway,” she said.His attorney Tatum Pritchard asked he be released on $1,000 bail because she said he does not pose a danger to the alleged victim or community.”The state has not met the burden of finding him a danger,” she said.Pritchard said Ibrahim is married and has four children. She said he has been in the country since 1999 and is a U.S. citizen. Pritchard also attempted to discredit the statements made by the victim.Ibrahim, who has been charged with aggravated rape and kidnapping, was ordered held without bail until a probable cause hearing, which has been scheduled for Jan. 15.