Sex offender accused of molesting girl, 13

LYNN – A judge ordered a registered Level 3 sex offender held without bail after police said the man molested a 13-year-old girl while she was sleeping.The man allegedly told police he was paralyzed when the girl rolled over on his hand.”The defendant said he was having some sort of episode where he could not move when she rolled over on him,” Essex Assistant District Attorney Erin Bellavia told the court.Steven Waylein, 33, homeless, turned himself in to police and was arrested and charged with indecent assault on a child under 14, subsequent offense; at 9:06 a.m. Wednesday.He was arraigned on the charge Wednesday afternoon in Lynn District Court where a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.Waylein is a registered Level 3 sex offender, according to Lynn Police. Bellavia said Waylein was convicted in Middlesex Superior Court of forcible rape of a child.Police met with a 13-year-old girl and her mother after the girl told Waylein’s brother via Facebook that the defendant had molested her, Bellavia told the court.The alleged victim told police that she was sleeping in Waylein’s mother’s bed when she felt a hand on her leg while she was half asleep/half awake at about 3 a.m. Monday, Bellavia said, summarizing from several Lynn Police reports.The alleged victim told officers she saw Waylein, who was staying at the apartment, and he was touching her “where he wasn’t supposed to” and “where she goes to the bathroom,” Bellavia recounted. The molestation continued for approximately 20 to 30 minutes until the alleged victim’s mother was heard in another room, Bellavia told the court.She added that the mother confronted Waylein and, before the mother even said anything, Waylein said he “never touched” the child.Bellavia told the court Waylein told officers he was tidying up his mother’s room when he slipped or tripped on a sock and put his hand down on the bed to catch himself from falling. Waylein said the alleged victim then rolled over onto his hand, and he had “an episode” and didn’t remember what happened, Bellavia recounted. But she said the defendant said his hand “may have been on or near (the alleged victim’s) private area.”She requested Waylein be held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing.A court-appointed defense attorney did not challenge probable cause for the hearing.Judge James Wexler ordered Waylein held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing Jan. 21.Waylein’s girlfriend declined to comment outside the courtroom.