Judge sets higher bail for man charged with rape at Rockland shelter

A senior judge on Monday increased bail for a man accused of raping a 15-year-old at a Rockland migrant shelter, pausing his deportation back to Haiti to allow criminal proceedings against him to move forward, officials announced.

Cory Alvarez, 26, was charged with one count of aggravated rape of a child with a 10-year age difference and one count of forcible rape of a child, according to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors asked that Alvarez's bail be increased to $1 million. At a hearing Monday, a judge allowed bail to be set at $150,000. Immigration officials had planned to deport the 26-year-old back to Haiti on Thursday, but prosecutors argued that if Alvarez leaves the country, it would “indefinitely close the case” and provide resolution for both the victim and Alvarez would prevent himself, according to the immigration attorney's office.

Prosecutors allege Alvarez raped a 15-year-old girl on March 13 at the Comfort Inn at 850 Hingham St. in Rockham. Alvarez was staying at the hotel, which was part of a government program to house migrant families.

When Rockland police responded to a report of a sexual assault at the hotel, they encountered the young girl who was taken to a South Shore Hospital for treatment.

“As a result of their investigation, Rockland police developed probable cause to arrest Alvarez and he was taken into custody,” the DA’s office said.

At a dangerousness hearing earlier this year, Alvarez was found not to pose a threat and bail was set at $500, which he posted the same day. According to prosecutors, he was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement months later during a pretrial conference in August and has been held in the ICE section of the Plymouth County House of Corrections since then.

Because Alvarez's deportation proceedings were stayed following the judge's order Monday, he will next appear in court on the charges against him on Nov. 13.