Crime
Leonardo Velez-Vega, 49, of Chicopee is being held without bail.
A Chicopee man allegedly sexually assaulted a tenant while making a pest control visit, as first reported by Mass Live.
Leonardo Velez-Vega, 49, pleaded not guilty to rape and indecent sexual assault of a person over 14, according to court documents.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on Aug. 26, Velez-Vega reportedly made inappropriate comments to a female client and tried to kiss her while working to exterminate mice at her apartment building on Park Street, according to court documents.
He allegedly threw the victim onto her bed, removed her pants, and licked her genitals before removing his own pants and attempting to rape her, according to a statement of the facts from police filed in court. When the victim said “no means no,” he reportedly told her he didn’t believe in that, she told police.
The victim was able to get away from him and left the building to call 911, police said.
Velez-Vega had previously done work in the apartment building. He also had previously flirted with and interacted with the victim online, she told police.
On the way to the police station, officers heard Velez-Vega say “that wasn’t rape,” according to the statement of the facts.
Velez-Vega is being held without bail on account of dangerousness because he was previously convicted of a “sexual-assault type crime,” court documents show.
Velez-Vega’s lawyer, Matthew Hutchinson, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
Velez-Vega is set to reappear in Chicopee District Court on Oct. 1 for a probable cause hearing and on Dec. 29 for a pre-trial hearing, according to court records.
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