Sex Offender Charged With Kidnapping, Raping Woman In Arlington
ARLINGTON (CBS) - A convicted sex offender appeared in court Monday, charged with breaking into an Arlington woman's home, holding her hostage and raping and beating her.
Officers called to the woman's apartment for a well-being check at about 8:15 p.m. Sunday.
"There was some telecommunications with a friend. The friend could tell that there was something wrong (and) contacted police for the well-being check," Arlington police Chief Frederick Ryan told reporters Monday.
As police arrived, a man ran out the back door of the apartment. Officers went after him and tackled him.
When police went inside the home, they found the woman seriously injured. She told them she had been held captive at knifepoint and was the victim of a home invasion and sexual assault.
Essie Billingslea, 45, of Boston, was arrested and charged with aggravated rape, kidnapping, home invasion, assault and battery, and armed assault in a dwelling.
Billingslea is a Level 3 registered sex offender with a history of violence, dating back to 1989.
A person is classified a Level 3 sex offender when the Sex Offender Registry Board determines that the risk of re-offense is high and there is a danger to the public. Level 3 sex offender information is available through local police departments and the Sex Offender Registry Board.
According to court records, Billingslea was convicted of rape of a child with force in 1989, indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 in 1995 and a rape and abuse charge in 1995.
Prosecutors petitioned for Billingslea to be declared a sexually dangerous person. After a hearing before a judge in 2006, Billingslea was found to be a sexually dangerous person and was committed to the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater Correctional Complex.
A judge twice denied petitions by Billingslea to be declared not sexually dangerous. But in March 2013, a jury found he was no longer sexually dangerous and he was released.
Bilingslea spent Sunday night at a hospital for treatment of a medical condition "unrelated to the arrest," said Ryan.
He was arraigned in Cambridge District Court Monday morning. A judge ordered him held without bail. He'll be back in court on Friday.
"This man is a dangerous felon," Ryan said, adding that the victim and Billingslea did not know each other.
Ryan told reporters Billingslea may have had relatives living in the neighborhood.
The victim is being treated at an undisclosed hospital.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karen Twomey reports
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