An island resident was arraigned in Nantucket District Court Thursday morning on four counts of rape of a child with force and two counts of statutory, aggravating rape of a child.
Adrian Bacchas, 35, of Nantucket, had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and was ordered to return to court March 7 for a pretrial hearing. Bail was set at $15,000, which Bacchas posted, and he was released from custody.
According to a police report provided by the court, the alleged victim in the case spoke to Nantucket Police Detective Derek Witherell on Tuesday, Jan. 11 about several sexual assaults that took place from March 2021 to December 2021.
The victim was 13-years-old when the relationship began in March. Bacchas is a bus driver for the town’s NRTA public transportation service and encountered the victim taking the bus after school. The victim told police all communication was done through the Snapchat app and began with random conversations that consisted of Bacchas saying an occasional dirty joke. Eventually police say the relationship progressed and Bacchas asked the victim to meet in Sconset. The first meeting occurred in March off Low Beach Road where Bacchas picked the victim up in his truck, drove toward the dunes beyond the Coast Guard housing and, according to the report, eventually “forced” the victim to perform oral sex.
Their encounters continued, about twice per month, through the year, according to the police report. The victim said Bacchas would send Snapchat messages asking to meet in the boys bathroom near the Sconset center. The victim said the relationship eventually progressed further and that they had sexual intercourse in October of 2021 at Bacchas’ mid-island residence on Friendship Lane.
The victim also described another incident that occurred in November at Cod Fish Park in Sconset. The victim recalled telling Bacchas “no” and “stop touching me” as he forced the victim to perform oral sex.
The report indicates the victim said the initial incident in March and the meeting at Cod Fish Park in November were the two times when their sexual encounters were non-consensual.
Under Massachusetts law, no child under the age of 16 can consent to sexual intercourse.
Police were able to identify Bacchas after looking through the victim’s phone messages, and he was interviewed by detectives on Wednesday, Jan. 12. According to the police report, he admitted to having a sexual relationship with the victim. He told police he thought the victim was 18 or 19 at first but admitted he realized later that they were 14 or 15. He said he only communicated with the victim over snapchat.
Bacchas acknowledged that he received oral sex from the victim during their relationship, and admitted to having sexual intercourse with the victim, but said it was only for “a second.”
