Jesse J. Caisse, Sr. is escorted from Westfield District Court July 20, 2015 after being arraigned on charges of indecent assault and battery of a person 14 or over. (Photo by Christine Charnosky)
WESTFIELD – Registered Sex Offender Jesse J. Caisse, Sr. will remain behind bars while his wife attempts to raise funds to hire a private attorney.
Caisse, 44, of Westfield, has been in the Hampden County House of Correction since his July 18 arrest when he was charged with indecent assault and battery of a person age 14 or over and witness intimidation.
Maria Barroso, the defendant’s court-appointed attorney, asked Judge Philip A. Contant in Westfield District Court Friday for a continuance while Caisse tries to raise money to hire private counsel.
Barroso asked for a new date of October 9 for pretrial, but Caisse indicated he needed more time.
Caisse waived Rule 36, his right to a “speedy trial,” and was given a pretrail date of October 30. He will continue to remain incarcerated.
His wife, Cassondra Caisse, who was in the courtroom Friday with her mother, has started a gofundme page, stating: “I am a new homeowner. I am having my first baby and need to raise the money for a lawyer for my husband. This lawyer will help him out a lot and help to prove he is innocent. I need $5000 to lock him in as his lawyer. I need him home to be here for his baby.”
So far, in the first eight days of the campaign zero dollars of $5,000 have been raised.
A search warrant was served on the couple’s Holyoke Road address the afternoon of July 18 after a 14-year-old female went to the Westfield Police Department the day before to report she had been sexually assaulted on July 17, according to court records.
The defendant had invited the victim, who is apparently a family friend, to his house on July 16 for a sleepover with his 7-year-old daughter. She told police that Caisse allegedly acted inappropriately toward her repeatedly on the evening of July 16 and through July 17. The victim repeatedly told the defendant “no,” tried to stop him and tried to get away from him, according to court records.
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.
Caisse’s record on the Sex Offender Registry Board listed under Jessie James Caisse, as a level 3 sex offender, 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 for which he served 10 years in the Massachusetts Correctional Institute at Cedar Junction.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
