Sen. Marzilli indicted in four attacks on women

July 1, 2008 04:50 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Globe Staff

State Senator J. James Marzilli Jr. has been charged with assaulting two more women, as prosecutors now allege that he groped a total of four victims last month in downtown Lowell.

J. James Marzilli Jr.

A Middlesex County grand jury indicted Marzilli today on charges stemming from the alleged attacks, which occurred during a span of four hours on the afternoon of June 3. The veteran lawmaker from Arlington was arrested that day after leading police on a foot chase.

One of the new charges against Marzilli came from a woman who told authorities she was accosted at 11 a.m. that day outside the Lowell Community Health Center. According to a press release issued this afternoon by prosecutors, Marzilli told her, "The sex is sweet, the sex is sweet, you want it, and you want to go with me."

The second new charge stemmed from a woman who told authorities she was waiting for a bus on Central Street at 1:15 p.m. when she saw Marzilli drive by three times. Prosecutors allege that the senator then parked, walked up to the victim, and asked, "“Do you have any undergarments under that?"

The other alleged attacks occurred at 11:30 a.m. on Jackson Street and at 3 p.m. on Middle Street. In total, the grand jury indicted Marzilli on four counts of annoying and accosting a person of the opposite sex. He was also indicted on charges of attempting to commit indecent assault and battery, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

After his arrest in June, Marzilli pleaded not guilty to the original charges in Lowell District Court. He will be arraigned on all the charges in Superior Court next week, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office. Marzilli's attorney, Terrence W. Kennedy, did not immediately return a phone message today seeking comment.

In a statement, Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone Jr. said, “These are troubling allegations in which Senator Marzilli is alleged to have engaged in a string of highly inappropriate and sexually explicit acts against four separate women."

Marzilli, a Democrat who served for 17 years in the House before being elected to the Senate in a special election last year, has said he will not run for reelection this fall. He was facing two Democratic opponents and had been considered certain to win the seat. Instead, he could face up to five years in state prison if he is convicted of the most serious charge against him, attempt to commit indecent assault and battery.