A 21-year-old Northeastern University student allegedly attacked a woman near the Boston school on Saturday, leaving her bleeding after he tried to cut off her clothes with a knife and threatened to rape her, a Suffolk prosecutor said today.
Patrick Barry (Boston police)
Patrick Barry was arrested Sunday and was arraigned today in Roxbury Municipal Court, where he pleaded not guilty to assault with intent to rape. Bail was set at $30,000 cash.
Police are also executing a search warrant at an undisclosed location and investigating forensic evidence found at the scene of another weekend attack.
Barry is a student at Northeastern and has recently lived in a building located in the 700 block of Huntington Avenue, according to authorities.
The first incident occurred around 2 a.m. Saturday when a man jumped out of the bushes near Huntington Avenue and Vancouver Street, grabbed a woman, and attempted to assault her, police said.
A prosecutor alleged during Barry’s arraignment that he attacked the woman with a knife, leaving her “bleeding profusely,†and tried to cut off her clothes. He also allegedly threatened to rape her.
The woman screamed for help and escaped her attacker.
Barry has no prior criminal history and his defense attorney called today’s charges “perplexing’’ during the arraignment.
Less than an hour after the alleged attack by Barry, a woman walking on Huntington Avenue near Parker Hill Street was grabbed from behind by a man armed with a knife. He knocked the woman to the ground and stabbed her in the hand before she was able to escape, police said.
Police and Suffolk prosecutors are investigating whether Barry was also responsible for that attempted sexual assault, according to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office.
Brian Ballou can be reached at bballou@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @globeballou. John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.
