Man Linked To Death Of 13-Year-Old Chloe Ricard Charged With Child Rape

Carlos Rivera, the 47-year-old Massachusetts man charged with giving cocaine to 13-year-old Chloe Ricard and sexually assaulting her before her unexplained death, appeared in Lawrence District Court Tuesday morning, where prosecutors presented a new charge against him: aggravated rape of a child. Rivera was arraigned on the new charge, which court documents state allegedly occurred on May 20. It is currently unclear whether the new charge is in connection with the Ricard case.

Ricard, who lived in Amesbury, MA, was pronounced dead shortly after being dropped off at the emergency room in Lawrence General Hospital on May 20. The man who drove her there has been identified as Rivera. Police say Rivera was accompanied by another girl under the age of 16 when he dropped off Ricard.

Authorities believe that the two girls were at Rivera's home in Lawrence, MA, on the night of May 19, and most of the next day, before Rivera left Ricard, alone, at the hospital. She reportedly “had no pulse” when she was brought to the ER. Ricard was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival. Lawrence is located about 20 miles away from Amesbury.

An autopsy on the 13-year-old has been completed, but the cause of her death has yet to be determined.

Rivera was arrested on May 25. Last week, he was arraigned on two charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, two charges of distribution of cocaine to a minor, and one charge of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14. Officials said the two counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 are in connection with Ricard’s case, according to MassLive.com, while the one count of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 is connected with the separate sexual assault of the unnamed 16-year-old.

A neighbor of Rivera's, Carlos Ospina, told NBC Boston he often saw Rivera hanging out with young-looking women. According to court records, Rivera was charged with driving without insurance in 2005, but otherwise has no past criminal charges.

The defense pled not guilty. Both parties, prosecutors and Rivera’s defense attorney, agreed that Rivera would remain held without bail. He is scheduled to return to court July 2.