Amos Sykes, man charged with sexually assaulting woman in South End, held without bail
BOSTON - Amos Sykes, the Quincy man accused of sexually assaulting a woman in the South End over the weekend, was ordered held without bail Monday.
Sykes, 35, pleaded not guilty to several charges, including assault to rape, at his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court. He came to court in white jumpsuit because police took his clothes for blood evidence in their investigation.
The woman said she was walking down Columbus Avenue towards West Canton Street, just after 9:30 p.m. Saturday when she was attacked from behind.
Prosecutor James Duffy said Sykes grabbed the victim, forced her to the ground, punched her in the head, took off some of her clothes and "made sexual advances towards her" as she screamed. That's when a witness rushed out from his home to get Sykes off the woman and stop the attack. He was fighting with Sykes when the police arrived. Sykes allegedly ran away, but officers caught him.
That man - Sam Holder - was stunned no one had jumped in to stop the attack. Instead, he saw people taking phone videos. A redacted police report shows officers took statements from four witnesses.
"There was a fourth witness who said that he heard screams from outside of his apartment," said Duffy during the arraignment. "He was able to look and saw the defendant before you today dragging the victim by the neck."
The victim was taken to the hospital with cuts on her face and a nose injury.
"She was crying she was covered in blood," Duffy said. "She told officers that she was walking down Columbus Avenue towards West Canton Street when the defendant came up from behind her and grabbed her and forced her to the ground to proceed to hit her in the head with a closed fist and take her pants off."
"I'm thankful that I was there to help her, and I'm sorry that she didn't get help sooner with the people who were there before I got there," Holder said.
Holder told police Sykes threatened to shoot him, even though Sykes didn't have a gun. Three other witnesses also told police Sykes also threatened to kill them.
A neighbor who spoke to WBZ-TV said he heard disruption outside his window and called 911.
"I started to bang on the window to have them go away and then we heard the screaming," said the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous. "She was saying 'Help! Someone help me! Please someone help me!' That's when we realized something serious was going on."
The neighbor said he was shaken up by the attack.
"This is the first time we have had anything like this happen. It's unsettling but obviously it can happen anywhere," he said.
The prosecution is asking to have the personal information of the victim and witnesses redacted from the police report after Sykes's alleged threats, saying he was convicted back in 2017 for witness intimidation.
Sykes is due back in court Wednesday for a dangerousness hearing.
"This was a nightmarish attack that left the victim bloodied and bruised, and would likely have resulted in an even worse outcome if not for the extraordinarily brave intervention of a Good Samaritan," Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement Monday. "In cases like this the victim's injuries often transcend the physical. Our office has advocates specially trained to treat this type of trauma, and they will be by this victim's side throughout the court process and after. I thank Boston Police for their quick response and arrest and I am especially grateful for this Good Samaritan's courageous action."
