Special to the Record
A Medford man has been ordered held on $7,500 bail and other release conditions after being charged late last month with multiple sexual assaults on an 88-year-old dementia-impaired Chelsea woman who the man regularly drove to an elder care facility.
All of the assaults were captured on Ring camera surveillance video, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
Edwin Lam, 66, was charged in Chelsea District Court on August 19 with eight counts of indecent assault and battery on a +60/disabled person. Judge Jane Prince set bail at $7,500 and ordered Lam to stay away from the victim’s home, surrender his passport, not engage in rideshare employment, remain in Massachusetts, and wear a GPS device with an exclusion zone around the victim’s home.
Lam will return to court on Oct. 17 for a probable cause hearing.
Surveillance video from the victim’s home shows Lam assaulting the woman eight times between May 20 and July 11, according to the district attorney’s office. They stated the videos show Lam, who drove for Joyful Living Center Adult Day Health in Charlestown, touching the victim’s breasts and groin area. The videos also show Lam grabbing the victim’s hand and placing it on his crotch.
A relative of the victim looked at the Ring footage after noticing the victim crying. The relative contacted Chelsea police, who then secured the video documenting the eight assaults and obtained a summons for Lam.
Hayden praised the relative and Chelsea police and pointed out the importance that the video evidence will have in the case.
“We live in an era of widespread commercial and domestic video surveillance, which when used judiciously and appropriately can be a tremendous asset to investigators,” Hayden said. “But even the best surveillance must be noticed and then brought to the attention of diligent investigators. Fortunately, both of those factors happened here. And it’s particularly fortunate because this is a case where the victim was unable to communicate what was happening to her.”
The victims of any crime, including domestic or sexual violence, should call 911 in an emergency. SafeLink, a statewide DV hotline, can be reached at 877-785-2020. SafeLink is answered by trained advocates 24/7 in English, Spanish and Portuguese, as well as TTY at 877-521-2601. It also has the capacity to provide multilingual translation in more than 140 languages. RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country, can be reached at 800-656-4673.
Help is also available for members of our LGBTQ+ community experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence through The Network/La Red by calling 617-742-4911 or 800-832-1901.