A Sagamore Beach man was arraigned on Monday on charges he allegedly inappropriately touched two 7-year-old girls at an indoor play area in Kingston.
Justin G. Kettell was arraigned in Plymouth District Court on one count each of indecent assault and battery on a child under the age of 14 and assault and battery. Kettell pleaded not guilty and was held on $20,000 bail with the conditions that he stay away from the Kingston Collection, have no contact with children under the age of 16 and wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.
At around 2 p.m. on Sunday, Kingston Police said they received a 911 call from a parent at Billy Beez, an indoor play area for children ages 3-12 at the Kingston Collection mall. The parent reported that her daughter and a female friend were being chased around the play area by an adult man who was attempting to "tickle" them. The girls had been attending a birthday party at the indoor playground.
According to police, two parents and an employee at Billy Beez attempted to stop the man but were unsuccessful and the man ran away from the mall. The mother who called police said she tried to stop him but appeared intoxicated. One of the parents allegedly took photos of the man on her cell phone and sent them to police. Police said they were then able to identify the person as Kettell and put out an alert to surrounding towns. Plymouth Police arrested Kettell a short time later.
Kettell’s attorney said that he never touched the girls intentionally. A woman in court who would not identify herself also came to his defense, calling him a "very honest person" and saying the incident was a misunderstanding.
Kettell is due in court on May 4 for a pre-trial conference.
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