Superior Court: Charges Dropped Against Man Accused Of Incest, Island Resident Arraigned On Rape Charges
David Creed •
Bryan F. King, a former island resident who was arraigned on decades-old sexual assault charges in Nantucket Superior Court last month that accused him of rape and incest had the case nolle prossed Tuesday morning by the Cape & Island's District Attorney's Office, meaning the prosecutors will no longer pursue the criminal charges against King. A second individual, Kedrick Pleasant, was arraigned in an entirely separate case where he is facing sex trafficking and rape charges.
King, 77, had one charge of aggravated rape of a child (more than a five-year age difference) and incest nolle prossed by the DA's office. The case is now closed. King pleaded not guilty to both charges at his arraignment last month and very little information was revealed about the nature of the incident, other than that it allegedly took place in 1979.
The alleged victim – as well as a pair of witnesses from the Nantucket Police Department – apparently testified to the grand jury, according to assistant district attorney Michael Preble in August, and Preble admitted that the alleged victim and King have not been in contact in many years during the arraignment session. King hasn't lived in Massachusetts since 1998.
King was represented by Jim Merberg, who declined comment when approached in the courthouse by the Current regarding his client and the dismissal of the charges. Merberg had stated during the arraignment he anticipated filing a motion to dismiss once he was able to receive and review the grand jury minutes. He officially filed a motion to dismiss with an "incorporated factual and legal memorandum" on September 18th, according to court records, meaning a legal filing requesting the case to be dismissed that was supported by a detailed legal argument for why the dismissal is justified was submitted to the court and ultimately granted.
In other Nantucket Superior Court news, Pleasant, 48, was arraigned on charges of rape, indecent assault and battery on a person 60 years or older, indecent assault & battery on a person 14 or over, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, and paying for sexual conduct following a June 23rd indictment by the Nantucket grand jury. He pleaded not-guilty to all charges and was released on his personal recognizance, with Preble telling the court that prosecutors are not worried about Pleasant appearing for future court dates given his track record of good attendance and his current residence on island.
Pleasant was scheduled to return to court in October for a pretrial conference. Details on Pleasant's case were not immediately available.
Nantucket Superior Court will be in session through October 3rd and Nantucket District Court will be back in session on October 6th.