Lionel Ivan Brathwaite Jr. (Credit: Sex Offender Registry Board of MA)
MEDFORD, Mass (WBZ NewsRadio) — Authorities have charged a Level 3 sex offender in the kidnapping of two girls in Cambridge last week.
At a courthouse arraignment Monday, prosecutors described Lionel Ivan Brathwaite Jr., 52, as a career criminal with 22 prior convictions including a conviction for rape.
His criminal record here in Massachusetts is 9 pages long.
Authorities say that Brathwaite tried to drag two 12-year-old girls down an alley in Cambridge last week. He told them he'd shoot them if they ran away, and kill them if they told police.
The girls managed to break away and run home.
Police were able to identify Brathwaite through surveillance video and caught a break when an officer on patrol saw him in Central Square.
Brathwaite’s defense attorney argued there is cause to question the identification of his client.
Brathwaite is being held without bail and is due back in court March 1st
WBZ NewsRadio’s Mike Macklin (@MikeMacklinWBZ) reports.