By Julie Manganis Staff Writer 5 hrs ago

ROCKPORT — The man accused of attempting to sexually assault a woman as she walked near the Rockport commuter rail station last August has again pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Angel Perez Castro, 22, of Gloucester was charged with attempted rape and assault and battery in an indictment handed up last month.

On Wednesday he pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment in Salem Superior Court, where he could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted in the Aug. 24 incident on Poole’s Lane.

The woman told authorities that Perez Castro followed her as she walked toward Poole’s Lane, then knocked her to the ground and tried to pull down her underwear.

She screamed, attracting the attention of others nearby. Perez Castro ran into the woods. He was arrested two days later in Gloucester.

Perez Castro, a Guatemalan immigrant who is in the United States without permission, is also facing potential deportation as a result of the arrest.

During Wednesday’s arraignment, prosecutor Jessica Strasnick renewed a motion by the district attorney’s office to keep Perez Castro in custody, without bail, as a danger.

A hearing on that request is now scheduled for Jan. 23 in Salem Superior Court. Perez Castro remains in custody at the Middleton Jail.

Due to incorrect information provided to a reporter earlier this month, the date of Perez Castro’s arraignment was incorrectly reported as having taken place on Dec. 5; in fact, that was the original scheduled arraignment date, but on Dec. 1, it was postponed until Wednesday due to the unavailability of Castro’s new attorney, John Morris.

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