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The Lowell Sun, December 22, 1996
Lowell man pleads innocent in rape
By LINDA HERVIEUX, Sun Staff
LOWELL – A 36-year-old father of four pleaded innocent yesterday in Lowell Superior Court to charges he repeatedly raped his neighbor, tied up her family, and robbed them of jewelry. An Kim of 43 Lincoln St., Lowell, who a prosecutor said was known to his victims as “uncle,” was ordered held in jail in lieu of $250,000 surety or $25,000 cash bail at an arraignment yesterday. Kim was freed last month after posting $2,500 cash bail in the Lowell District Court. But at yesterday’s Superior Court arraignment, a hearing which occurs after a defendant is indicted by a grand jury, Judge Charles J. Hely significantly raised Kim’s bail after a request by Assistant District Attorney Richard Grundy. Kim pleaded innocent to three counts of aggravated rape, five counts of armed assault in a dwelling, five counts of kidnapping, and one count each of masked armed robbery, indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 and assault and battery.
The victims know Kim as “uncle,” although he is a family friend, Grundy said. Previous published reports quoting police identified Kim as a relative of the victims.
Grundy told the judge that Kim, disguised in a ski mask and wielding a knife, burst into the victim’s apartment in the early hours of Nov. 25, roused the family from sleep and forced them to lie on the floor. Police said the attack occurred at about 3:30 a.m. The victim, who is in her 20s, lived in the apartment with her 3 ½ -year-old son, and her brother, sister and grandmother, Grundy said. Despite the mask, the family recognized Kim, who allegedly tied them up with duct tape and gagged them. He then forced the young woman into a bedroom, where he repeatedly raped her, Grundy said. Kim eventually fled the apartment with an undetermined amount of jewelry, Grundy said. Kim’s lawyer, Scott Bratton, asked the judge not to raise Kim’s bail, arguing that Kim has “no history of mental illness, substance abuse of any kind or criminal record.” Bratton noted that Kim, who listened to the hearing with the assistance of an interpreter, is a father of four who emigrated from Cambodia in 1984.
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