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WORCESTER, Mass. (TCD) — A 41-year-old man who is already facing kidnapping and attempted murder charges has also been accused of raping a 7-year-old girl he threw off a bridge.
According to the Worcester Police Department, on Aug. 27, 2017, a 7-year-old girl attended a party at her grandparents’ home in Worcester and at 2:30 a.m., she was reportedly taken by a family friend without her parents’ permission. The suspect, Joshua Hubert, allegedly strangled the girl and then threw her into Lake Quinsigamond.
The girl survived the fall and managed to swim to shore. She was found at approximately 4 a.m. in Shrewsbury with “visible, but not life-threatening injuries.”
Police arrested Hubert on a kidnapping charge.
The Worcester County District Attorney’s Office indicted Hubert in January 2018 on two counts of attempted murder, one count of kidnapping a child under 16, and one count of strangulation or suffocation.
Now, Hubert is also facing rape charges in connection with the case. Mass Live reports he was charged on Dec. 13 with two counts of aggravated rape. The charges allege the victim was tied, bound, or gagged during the sexual assault and that there was at least a five-year age gap between the two.
Hubert’s initial arrest affidavit cited by Mass Live alleges the girl was asleep in a chair and Hubert picked her up and said he was taking her home. He allegedly drove her around in his car for an hour, then “strangled her with two hands, and his arm, then got back in the driver’s seat and started driving again.”
The affidavit reportedly said, “When asked if she had tried pushing him away, she stated, ‘I tried that, but it didn’t work.'”
Mass Live reports the girl was still wrapped in a blanket when Hubert allegedly pushed her off the bridge. The girl said she “fell for a long time and landed in the waters below.”
When she got to the shore, she found help at a nearby house. about 100 yards away. The woman provided her with dry clothes, and she told the woman, “My friend Josh threw me over the bridge.”
Investigators who arrived at the scene reportedly noted the girl had marks on her neck that resembled strangulation. However, Hubert’s DNA sample reportedly did not match DNA found on the victim.
Hubert and the victim’s father reportedly used to be friends, but grew apart after an argument.
Hubert is due back in court in February.
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