Massachusetts Rape Suspect Arrested By Marshals In New Hampshire

CONCORD, NH — A man accused of raping children in Massachusetts was arrested in Manchester on Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Fugitive task forces from both states along with Manchester police and the Mass. State Police worked together to capture Walter Velez-Torres, 39, on Wednesday on two warrants, Jeffery White, a deputy marshal, said.

Velez-Torres, who recently moved to Manchester, was wanted on warrants issued earlier this month. One, out of the Essex County Superior Court issued March 3, accused him of rape of a child, statutory with a 5-year age difference or more as well as two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. The second arrest warrant was posted last week by the Worcester District Court for aggravated rape of a child with force, assault and battery, and witness intimidation charges.

“Information developed by the task force revealed that Mr. Velez was residing in an apartment in the 600 block of Union Street in Manchester,” White said, “and reportedly owned a business in the 400 block of Lake Avenue in Manchester. After a period of surveillance, Mr. Velez was observed arriving to his business on Lake Avenue, where he was arrested without incident.”

Velez-Torres was taken to the Manchester Police Department, where he was charged as a fugitive from justice based on the two warrants. He will be held without bail at the Hillsborough County Jail pending his court appearance in New Hampshire and eventual return to Massachusetts to face “these very egregious allegations,” White added.

U.S. Marshal Nick Willard said these types of allegations “strike a chord in both law enforcement and the public. “These cases are always the highest priority, and we are glad that we were able to get Mr. Velez off the streets as quickly as we did,” he said.

According to superior court records and a post on Patch, Velez-Torres is a felon due to a cocaine sale charge out of Salem in March 2017. Police said he left cocaine and heroin in a room at the Red Roof Inn where staff later found the drugs while cleaning. Velez-Torres called the motel back to retrieve the drugs and when he did, was arrested on multiple charges by police.

Velez-Torres, who was living in Lawrence, MA, at the time, was sentenced in December 2017 to a mandatory minimum of two years with 286 days time served while also being required to obtain treatment and counseling. A request to suspend his sentence in January 2019 was denied due to him not attending the treatment program.

Editor's note: This post was derived from information supplied by the U.S. Marshals Service and does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the removal request process for New Hampshire Patch police reports.

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