Youth counselor pleads not guilty to rape

BOSTON
A 32-year-old youth counselor pleaded not guilty yesterday to rape and prostitution-related charges as prosecutors depicted him as a man who abused his authority at a community center for at-risk youth. Derrick Patrick was indicted on single counts of rape and inducing a minor into prostitution and four counts of engaging in sex for a fee. During his arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court, prosecutors said Patrick paid a 17-year-old girl at the Ella J. Baker House for sex several times and raped her on Jan. 5 when she turned down his advances. She reported the alleged rape later that day and was treated at an area hospital. (AP)

MILTON

Milton police are investigating a private school bus driver who is accused of driving drunk when he picked up two young girls and drove them to a private school in Boston on Thursday morning, police said yesterday. Deputy Police Chief Paul Nolan would not released the name of the driver, because he had not been charged with a crime by yesterday. He identified the transportation company involved as TLC School Transportation of Canton. TLC said in a statement that it had fired the driver. Nolan said that the driver picked up two girls around 7 a.m. Thursday and that at least one of the mothers noticed an odor of alcohol on his breath. One of the mothers contacted Milton police around 12:15 p.m. and police contacted the transportation company.

STURBRIDGE

Massachusetts State Police seized 36 kilograms of a substance believed to be cocaine yesterday after stopping a driver traveling east on Interstate 84 in Sturbridge for a missing license plate, authorities said. Narciso Duarte, 26, of Fitchburg was arrested at approximately 11:35 a.m. on charges of trafficking a class B controlled substance and improper display of a number plate. He is being held on $500,000 cash bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Dudley District Court on Monday.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

A Massachusetts man was killed, and five people were rescued after a floatplane from a fishing lodge near Iliamna Lake crashed into a coastal marsh in Katmai National Park. Donald Bator, 62, of Ludlow, Mass., died in the crash, Alaska state troopers said. National Guardsmen flew to the scene and transported four survivors from the crash site to Kodiak. Three were treated and released from Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center and one declined treatment. They included Francis Chlebus, 67, of Chicopee, Mass. (AP)

HARVARD

State Police are searching for whoever tossed pumpkins off three Route 2 overpasses in Harvard, Littleton, and Templeton early yesterday, one of which struck a passing vehicle, causing minor injuries to the driver. Police said a pumpkin smashed into the windshield of a 2005 Honda about 12:15 a.m., as its driver was traveling eastbound on Route 2 under the Poor Farm Road overpass in Harvard. The 30-year-old Acton man was treated for minor injuries at the scene, and his female passenger was unharmed, police said. About 15 minutes later, police were alerted that pumpkins were being tossed from the Whitcomb Road overpass in Littleton. The third pumpkin tossing was reported around 1:25 a.m. from the South Main Street overpass in Templeton. No vehicles were hit in the latter incidents.

ANDOVER

Massachusetts residents and communities have received more than $50 million in disaster aid since the mid-May floods, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced yesterday. Nearly 11,000 households applied for assistance after President Bush approved a federal disaster declaration on May 25, and FEMA has approved more than $16.5 million to cover rental assistance, temporary lodging, and grants for home repairs not covered by insurance. Essex County received nearly $11 million; Middlesex County, $4.9 million; and Suffolk County, nearly $1 million. In addition, FEMA approved $1.8 million for personal disaster-related expenses such as medical costs and property loss. FEMA has awarded $12.4 million for 607 requests for aid from local governments and private nonprofits in Essex and Middlesex counties. Also, the US Small Business Administration approved about $39.6 million in low-interest disaster loans.