Man Charged With Child Sex Assault Held Pending Trial

CONCORD -- A Rochester man appeared in District Court this week to face charges of raping a girl for nearly a decade. Darpan Kirat Rai has been charged with 15 counts of felony sexual assault involving a minor, authorities said.

Concord police, with the assistance of the United States Marshal's Service and the Barrington Police Department, arrested Rai in Rochester, according to a CPD statement. Rai, 36, was charged with eight counts of pattern sexual assault, two counts of use of force or violence and five counts of no consent.

On Wednesday, the Concord Monitor reported that a judge ordered Rai to be detained pending trial after city prosecutor Steven Endres argued that he is still a danger to the victim, now an adult, after years of sexual assaults beginning when she was in elementary school.

The prosecutor said the victim was threatened with a knife and photographed without her consent. He said the victim was blackmailed with the photos and that there may be additional charges. He also said authorities believe there could be other victims.

An investigation began in May after someone who knew the victim reported possible long-term sexual abuse, police said. Police say the crimes occurred in the Concord, Barrington and Boscawen jurisdictions. The statement said detective interviews and evidence corroborated the allegation and police determined that Rai "groomed his victim at a very young age and began perpetrating sexual assaults against the victim when the victim was a child in grade school."

If anyone has information they are asked to contact: Concord Police Lt. Sean Ford at 230-3728 or the Concord Regional Crimeline at 226-3100.

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