Thursday, 4:30 PM
Man accused of Esplanade groping suffers from mental illness, court psychologist says
(Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe)
Kodjo Simpri, 30, is accused of assaulting a woman and child in a play area of the Charles River Esplanade on Tuesday.
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff
A Boston man accused of groping a woman on the Charles River Esplanade will be evaluated at Bridgewater State Hospital after a psychologist told a Charlestown District Court judge today that the defendant appears to suffer from mental illness.
The defendant initially told authorities that his name was Rearlimgigeazr Eshiesycapilla and that he was 23, but a fingerprint analysis by State Police confirmed determined that he was Kodjo Simpri, 30. He lives at the Pine Street Inn, a homeless shelter in Boston.
Simpri, dressed in ripped camouflage spandex pants and an oversized white T-shirt, walked barefoot into the courthouse with handcuffs and leg shackles. He had been scheduled for arraignment, but his attorney, Kristen Wenge, asked Judge Michael Bolden to have her client evaluated by the court psychologist. After an hour-long evaluation, the psychologist, Priscilla Hoffnung, said Simpri appeared to be preoccupied with sex and he rambles and loses his train of thought.
Bolden ordered Simpri to Bridgewater. He is scheduled to return to court July 11.
Authorities did not say whether Simpri may be linked to another alleged sexual assault of a female jogger near the Massachusetts Avenue Bridge earlier this month.
