NORTHAMPTON — A 30-year-old Worthington man denied charges Tuesday that he improperly touched a minor while swimming at the Chesterfield Gorge Reservation last month.
Philip Cote pleaded not guilty in Northampton District Court to three charges stemming from the alleged incident: indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14, assault and battery, and disorderly conduct. Cote is represented by attorney Kevin K. Kelley of Criminal Defense Northampton and Judge W. Michael Goggins is presiding over the case.
On July 2, state troopers were called to the reservation when the child’s mother was informed by the minor that a man had “poked the young boy in his penis,” according to the police report.
The alleged incident occurred when two brothers, both minors, were swimming with several other people at the gorge, and at one point, a man later identified as Cote dived underwater next to the older brother and touched him inappropriately, according to court documents.
Cote is said to have made the comment “I was just joking,” directed at the young boy. The boy’s parents were not immediately present and the young boy did not inform them right away, court documents state.
The young boy told police that Cote then asked the brothers to follow him upstream so he could show them how to catch crawdads. They followed him and were alone with Cote for about 10 minutes before a parent went over to tell Cote to “get away,” according to the police report.
The parent felt uncomfortable when Cote responded with, “I knew I shouldn’t take someone else’s kids too far away,” and the family decided to leave, police wrote.
As the family left the reservation, one of the parents took a photo of Cote’s car, and shortly after leaving, the young boy allegedly told his mother that the man had inappropriately touched him.
The parent immediately called the police to inform them of the incident and police followed up with a visit to the reservation. There they found Cote, where police said he confirmed to them that he had asked kids to join him in catching crawdads, but he denied physical contact with either of the children, and denied that he touched their private parts.
Cote was released on conditions that he have no contact with a child under 18 in any manner, and have no contact with the alleged victims and witnesses. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 21.