Teen Charged In Beating Of Danvers Man This Past Weekend: Police

DANVERS, MA — A 15-year-old was charged Friday in the beating of a Danvers man with special needs near the Holten Richmond Middle School last weekend following days of outrage across the town about the attack and groups of kids on bikes accused of routinely threatening and harassing residents.

Police said the teen was arrested at about 1:30 on Friday and charged with two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and battery on a person with a disability.

"The Danvers Police Department continues to work in close cooperation with the Essex County District Attorney's Office on this active and ongoing investigation," Danvers police said on Friday. "In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation, and because juveniles are involved, additional details cannot be released at this time."

The victim, who has special needs, gave an emotional statement at Tuesday's Select Board meeting, saying that he has not been able to sleep since the attack, is "scared of these kids" and pleaded with officials to do more to help protect him from the abuse.

• 'Really, Really Afraid': Danvers Assault Victim Speaks Out On Weekend Attack

Several residents spoke at Tuesday night's meeting about groups of juveniles riding on their bikes swearing at residents, throwing items, causing traffic disruptions and exhibiting threatening behavior over the past three years.

While police pledged to investigate the attack and charge those found responsible for it, those who spoke Tuesday night called on officials to be more proactive against the juveniles who they called "a bunch of hoodlums," "terrorizing" and out of control."

The Danvers Select Board said Chief James Lovell would be invited to one of the next two meetings to address what can be done about the issue.

"The action of a group of juveniles, as reported to me, is most concerning," Select Board Chair Daniel Bennett said. "Trust that this Board will take this infraction seriously and will express to our police department to take any and all necessary steps to curtail these outlandish incidents."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)