Bail set at $25G for rape suspect

LYNN – A judge ordered $25,000 cash bail for a city man who allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl at knifepoint, although a public defender said the alleged victim now recanted the accusation.Isabel Contreras-Vasquez, 29, of 14 Essex Circle #3, pleaded not guilty to aggravated rape; assault and battery with a dangerous weapon; resisting arrest; witness intimidation; and disorderly conduct; on April 7.The alleged victim called police earlier that morning, reporting she had been sexually assaulted and the suspect was still in the apartment. Police said they arrested Contreras-Vasquez as he tried to flee the scene.The alleged victim told officers she awoke around 2 a.m. and saw Contreras-Vasquez standing in the doorway of her bedroom and holding a knife. The defendant then allegedly molested and raped the girl while holding the knife to her body, threatening to kill her if she screamed.A judge at Contreras-Vasquez’s arraignment ordered the defendant held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Monday.Essex Assistant District Attorney Erin Bellavia withdrew the request for a dangerousness hearing when the case was called Monday.But she requested the defendant be held on $150,000 cash bail and revealed new details of the case.Bellavia told the court the alleged victim had gathered every sharp knife in the apartment after the alleged rape in case the defendant returned to the room. Bellavia also suggested the alleged victim would have reason to recant. Bellavia said the girl’s relative had blamed the alleged victim for the incident – the alleged victim was not supposed to be in the apartment because her mother was not home, according to Bellavia.The defendant also sent two texts to the alleged victim saying her family would be abandoned if she told anyone about the incident, Bellavia reported.”?Forgive me, (alleged victim) don’t cry because you are no longer a virgin,'” Bellavia quoted one text as reading. She then added that the text read “?how delicious you felt.'”Public defender Donna Cuipylo admitted this last part “sounds kind of icky for a lack of a better word.”But she said the defendant reported he had no idea what it meant, and she suggested it might have been an “autocorrect” error. Cuipylo said the rest of the message showed Contreras-Vasquez was concerned the girl was sexually active, as he had previously caught the girl with a boyfriend at the home.Cuipylo also said the alleged victim was in the court with her mother and said that she had lied to police about the incident. The alleged victim and mother were not afraid of the defendant but agreed he should stay away from them during the case, Cuipylo reported.She said the results of a rape kit would determine the strength of the case, and she requested $1,500 cash bail.Judge Cathleen Campbell ordered $25,000 cash bail and that the defendant stay away from the alleged victim and her family.