Boston

Plymouth Man Accused of Raping Woman He Met on Dating App

"You don’t know who you’re meeting. Anybody can be anybody on Facebook or an app, you just never know," the alleged victim's father told NBC10 Boston

A 27-year-old Massachusetts man was arrested on charges that include rape after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman he met on a dating app.

Wareham police said Plymouth resident Garry Marshall met his alleged victim on the app, MeetMe, where he advertised himself as single despite him being married and having a child.

Prosecutors said that Marshall picked up the alleged victim Monday evening, shortly after meeting her on the app. The two drove around, drinking, and eventually parked on the side of a Wareham road.

The 24-year-old woman acknowledged she got into the backseat of the defendant’s car, prosecutors say. Marshall then allegedly became forceful and held her down.

"She immediately texted as soon as it happened and just said, 'I need help,'" Brian Backlund, the alleged victim’s father, told NBC10 Boston.

After receiving the text message at around 9 p.m., Backlund told his daughter to text 911 since she was still in the defendant’s car. Marshall drove to a liquor store in Carver, a location the alleged victim sent to her father and police.

"She's just emotionally a wreck," Backlund said, "You don’t know who you’re meeting. Anybody can be anybody on Facebook or an app, you just never know."

In court, Marshall’s attorney said he adamantly denies the allegations. The police report stated that he claimed the interaction was entirely consensual.

Marshall was released on $2,500 bail. The judge ordered he stay away from the alleged victim.

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