Two Men Charged With Rape of Girl, 12, in Separate Incidents

Two city men face first-degree sexual assault and risk of injury charges in three incidents each involving an underage girl just days apart at two low-income housing projects this summer.

Middletown Police Lt. Heather Desmond would not confirm that the 12-year-old girl was the same victim in each of the incidents because of the sexual nature of the charges. 

Denzell A. Dempsey, 18, of Maplewood Terrace and Dennis A. Jacobs, 19, of Traverse Square appeared in court on Oct. 9.

An examination of both arrest warrants reveals the following details.

The mother of a 12-year-old girl came into police headquarters on Aug. 19 and told officers her daughter was sexually assaulted when she visited a friend at Traverse Square on Aug. 15 when she was supposed to be doing volunteer work, according to the warrant.

Jacobs, according to the affidavit, is the brother of the victim's friend and when she visited the home Jacobs sat next to her on the couch and touched her breasts and genitals under a blanket while his two younger sisters were in the room watching television. 

Police say a similar sexual incident took place at Jacob's home on Aug. 19.

Jacob's account indicated the victim sent him a message on Facebook saying she wanted to engage in oral sex and she was the aggressor in the incident at his home, according to the arrest warrant. Jacobs showed detectives the text messages between them, which investigators determined were from the victim and she sent him a list of seven acts of a sexual nature she'd perform when they met, the warrant reveals.

Texts between Jacobs' sister and he indicated the victim didn't "have condoms to get freaky," to which he replied he wasn't going to do that with her, police report. 

The victim told officers she sent the messages but was "joking" and the oral sex was against her will, the report details.

The arrest warrant for Jacobs, signed by the same special investigations unit detective three days after Dempsey's, does not indicate the two cases involve the same victim.

However, similarly, the mother of a 12-year-old girl came into police headquarters on Sept. 5, saying her daughter was a victim of sexual assault after engaging in oral sex with Dempsey, according to the arrest warrant. 

The mother showed police 35 Facebook private messages between the two beginning on Aug. 16 in which they discussed Dempsey coming to her home and putting furniture in front of her bedroom door to keep people out of her room, police say. The conversation continued on Aug. 17, documents say, after the victim asked Dempsey what he did when he was bored and his reply was of a sexual nature.

The affidavit says the two discussed meeting at his house in Maplewood Terrace early that afternoon by Facebook messenger. Texts later that evening indicated they had engaged in an act.

The victim attended the city of Middletown's Kids Arts Circus Camp at Macdonough Elementary School this past summer, according to the warrant, where Dempsey was a counselor and the two met when the victim said she knew his younger brother. Two weeks before camp ended, the report says, the victim sent Dempsey a friend request on Facebook which he accepted and they began messaging each other.

Police say Dempsey asked the girl to wear "something sexy" for their meeting and she obliged. The victim's account indicates they discussed oral sex. When detectives interviewed him on Sept. 9, his account was similar to the victim's.

Desmond said she is "bound by law" to protect the victims of sexual assault allegations and could not offer further information.

Both Dempsey and Jacobs were arrested on Sept. 30 along with 69 other individuals throughout Middlesex County in a warrant sweep by the U.S. State's Attorney's Office dubbed Operation Archangel.

Jacobs' and Dempsey's cases were heard on Oct. 9 at Middletown Superior Court, however the former's case was continued to Nov. 6 and the latter's to Nov. 7.

In March, Dempsey was arrested for interfering with an officer during a harassment incident at Maplewood Terrace, according to the arrest report.

In June, Dempsey took part in the Outdoor Track and Field New England Championships held in New Britain, running the 100- and 400-meter relay races while a senior at Middletown High School. In 2011, he took part in Oddfellows Children’s Circus summer program.