Ex-mentor charged with child rape

SALEM – A Salem Superior Court judge ordered $100,000 cash bail for a prominent member of the city Latino community accused of raping a boy over a period of six years when the defendant volunteered at a youth program in the mid-1990s.Investigators also seized “hundreds if not thousands” of videotapes from the defendant’s home, believing the alleged incidents may have been recorded, a prosecutor said.Victor Canaan, 61, of 121 Franklin St., was arrested Tuesday on a grand jury warrant and charged with five counts of rape of a child.Canaan pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday afternoon in Salem Superior Court.Essex Assistant District Attorney Jessica Strasnick said the alleged victim, now 28, told Lynn Police in January that Canaan had raped him when he was between the ages of 10 and 16. The alleged victim told police he met Canaan through the Curwin Circle Youth program where Canaan volunteered, Strasnick told the court.Canaan first gave the alleged victim money, then the relationship progressed to oral sex in the youth program offices and in a room where the children were shown Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) videos, Strasnick said. The alleged victim told police he would eventually visit Canaan’s apartment twice a week before school, and they would watch pornography and have sex, the prosecutor told the court. The alleged sexual relationship ended when the boy was 16.The allegations came to light, however, only recently.The alleged victim told police a man had recently approached him and reported seeing a video in which Canaan performed a sexual act on the alleged victim. The alleged victim told police he had no idea any encounters were videotaped, according to Strasnick. Police allegedly were able to identify this witness, who corroborated the timeframe of the alleged sexual encounters.Strasnick said police recovered, in addition to the videotapes, a picture of the alleged victim at his high school graduation, pornography and a pair of boys boxer shorts from the defendant’s home.She requested $100,000 cash bail, saying the defendant was a media personality locally and in the Dominican Republic, to which he traveled to cover political events, and thus was a flight risk. Strasnick also requested the defendant surrender his passport, stay away from and have no contact with the alleged victim and witnesses and have no unsupervised contact with children under 18 years old.”This is currently a very strong case for the Commonwealth and if video of the victim is found, it will be an even stronger case,” Strasnick said. Court-appointed defense attorney Patrick Regan said the videotapes were from Canaan’s work as a television reporter. Regan said Canaan has no record and has worked for the City of Lynn housing department for the last 20 years, where he runs community-service programs and manages properties. Regan also said the defendant said he has had no involvement with youth programs since the 1990s. Regan requested a small cash bail, saying his client had very little money and noting the amount of time since the alleged events.”He has a picture of the young man because he invited (the defendant) to be at his graduation from high school, Regan said. “(Canaan) has had a friendship with him over a period of time but denies all accusations.”Strasnick noted that a 2008 article about Canaan receiving an award at the State House mentioned Canaan was a youth mentor.A 2008 article from the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development (LHAND) about Canaan being honored at the State House also refers to the defendant as (then) president of the Lynn Hispanic Festival and an employee of the housing organization.Regan said his client maintained he had no contact with youth since the 1990s. Canaan repeatedly shook his head in disbelief as an interpreter translated the court proceedings.Judge Howard Whitehead ordered $100,000 cash bail without prejudice, meaning it can be reargued at a later date. Whitehead also ordered Canaan t