Jesse J. Caisse, Sr. is escorted from Westfield District Court Monday after being arraigned on charges of indecent assault and battery of a person 14 or over. (Photo by Christine Charnosky)
WESTFIELD – A registered level 3 sex offender was arraigned in Westfield District Court Monday on new charges of assaulting a minor.
Jesse J. Caisse, Sr., 44, was arrested after a search warrant was served on his Holyoke Road address at 1:05 p.m. Saturday afternoon. He was charged with indecent assault and battery of a person 14 or over, witness intimidation, and arrest on a warrant temporary by clerk.
Caisse, who is being represented by court-appointed attorney Maria Barroso, entered a not guilty plea to the charges.
Caisse was held in the Hampden County House of Correction over the weekend and sent back to the facility Monday afternoon until a pre-trail detention hearing is held on Thursday.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Wallace is asking for pre-trial detention since Caisse is considered dangerous and has a long criminal history including being sentenced in 1998 to 7-10 years in the Massachusetts Correction Institute-Cedar Junction for forcible rape of a child.
Caisse’s record on the Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB), listed under Jessie James Caisse, shows two convictions of rape of a child with force and two convictions for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age, all from December 15, 1998.
Level 2 and 3 sex offenders are determined to be at a moderate or high risk to reoffend and the degree of dangerousness posed to the public is such that public safety interest is served by public availability of registration information, according to the SORB website.
A 14-year-old female went to the Westfield Police Department on Friday night to report she had been sexually assaulted that day, according to court records.
The girl said that the defendant invited her to his house Thursday evening to meet his 7-year-old daughter. Wallace said it was unclear why Caisse had custody of his daughter, who has been placed in the custody of the Department of Child and Family Services since his arrest.
The victim said she played with the 7-year-old outside when the defendant began making subtle advances towards her, including kissing her cheek, which made her uncomfortable.
The victim stayed overnight with the 7-year-old and Caisse allegedly continued to make advances, including touching her inappropriately. The victim repeatedly told the defendant “no,” tried to stop him and tried to get away from him.
The relationship between Caisse and the 14 year-old was unclear.
Caisse allegedly told the victim, “You have to swear on your mother’s grave not to tell anyone what I said or did,” according to court records.
The defendant also allegedly told the victim, “You could be my side girl” and that they could have fun and he could make her happy, as stated in court records.
Wallace, who requested to get the court clerk’s file impounded, said this case is still under investigation. Westfield District Judge Philip A. Contant denied Wallace’s request of impounding the file, but he did allow the search warrant to be impounded.
Caisse’s criminal history also includes numerous convictions for indecent assault and battery, firearms charges, malicious destruction of property, assault and battery, and “these are just what he was convicted of,” said Wallace during Caisse’s arraignment.
In 1997 in Holyoke, Caisse was shot by police after he had threatened to kill himself with a handgun and then assaulted a police officer.
Numerous times court officers had to interrupt Caisse, who was in lock-up, from attempting to communicate via gestures with two women in the courtroom, who were also trying to interact with him.
Contant granted Barroso’s request for Caisse to be monitored at the House of Correction since he is at risk of harming himself.
