BARNSTABLE (AP) - A Hyannis man has been ordered held on $5,000 bail after pleading not guilty to raping a 9-year-old girl.
Bruce Fernandes was arraigned Monday in Barnstable District Court on charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and rape of a child with force.
Prosecutors say the 58-year-old Fernandes allegedly assaulted the girl at a Yarmouth home last month where his girlfriend was caring for the child.
The girl allegedly told her mother that Fernandes touched her on her chest and under her underwear.
The Cape Cod Times reports that prosecutors allege while his girlfriend was helping the mother, who uses a wheelchair, Fernandes assaulted the child in another room.
Fernandes is an out-of-work chiropractor and his lawyer says he has deep ties to the region.