A Brockton man out on bail after he allegedly exposed himself in January was ordered behind bars yesterday at his arraignment on charges he punched, kicked and verbally attacked a man with cerebral palsy on the Red Line Tuesday afternoon, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.
Thomas Kennedy, 63, was arraigned in South Boston Municipal Court yesterday on charges of assault and battery on a disabled person, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and a civil rights violation.
Judge Michael Bolden agreed with a request from prosecutors to revoke Kennedy's bail for a Jan. 25 incident at Forest Hills, for which he was charged with indecent exposure and disorderly conduct. Kennedy, 63, was also ordered to undergo alcohol and mental-health screenings should he somehow get out, the DA's office reports.
According to the DA's office, the incident began Tuesday afternoon when a 21-year-old college student got on a Red Line train at Downtown Crossing and sat next to Kennedy:
The victim told police that Kennedy reeked of alcohol and immediately began making derogatory comments about the victim’s disability and calling him ethnic and homophobic slurs.
The victim was able to move to another seat at Andrew station, but Kennedy continued to verbally assail the victim and eventually punched and kicked him.
The victim was able to exit the train at JFK/UMass station and reported the assault to police. He was transported to Boston Medical Center, where he was able to describe his assailant for MBTA Transit Police detectives. He was later able to identify the defendant on footage from public safety cameras inside Downtown Crossing station, prosecutors said.
Transit Police officers spotted Kennedy back at Downtown Crossing around 6:15 p.m. and arrested him, the DA's office reports.
Innocent, etc.