PROSECUTORS DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST MALE ACCUSED OF RAPE AT HYANNIS HOTEL
ORLEANS – According to the Orleans District Court clerk’s office, all charges against Daishawn Williams, age 20, of Hyannis, were dropped Tuesday.
In a previous May 2021 statement, Chief Matthew Sonnabend of the Barnstable Police Department told HN that Williams, age 18 at the time, had been arrested during a carefully planned felony, or “high risk,” May 13th traffic stop. Williams was reportedly charged with several serious felonies at the time, including one count of Aggravated Rape, two counts of Indecent Assault & Battery on a Person 14-Years-Old or Older, Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, an additional count of Assault & Battery, and Larceny from a Building.
The charges stemmed from allegations of a rape inside a Hyannis hotel room that had been reported on May 2, 2021. The following are links to previous HN coverage of the allegations:
1.) ALLEGATIONS OF “GANG RAPE” INSIDE HYANNIS HOTEL ROOM… [HN VIDEO]
2.) Eighteen-year-old Hyannis male arrested for Aggravated Rape…
3.) Aggravated Rape suspect released into mom’s custody…
In a previous HN update, on March 10, 2022, one of six charges against Daishawn Williams ended up being dropped. The Aggravated Rape charge was dropped according to the DA’s office because the victim requested that the case remain in district court as opposed to Superior Court, where rape cases are heard as a rule. At the time of this update – 3/17/2022 – Williams still faced 5 separate charges in district court. Those charges were as follows: 1. Indecent Assault & Battery on a Person 14 or Over… 2. Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon… 3. Assault & Battery… 4. Larceny From a Building… and 5. Indecent Assault & Battery on a Person 14 or Over.
The reported reason for the charges being dropped yesterday – Tuesday, 11/29/2022 – was because of the prosecutors citing insufficient evidence.
According to a report published yesterday in the Cape Cod Times, the accuser reportedly “had memory deficiencies and was unable to identify [Williams] in an unequivocal out-of-court identification. Also, the commonwealth did not know the accuser’s whereabouts for a period of time before the trial.” The Cape Cod Times report continues with the following statement from the district attorney’s office: “All efforts to locate and serve her were [unsuccessful], until this week when she was located in a residential facility off Cape. Without her testimony, the commonwealth cannot proceed to trial and meet its burden beyond a reasonable doubt…”
The bottom line is that all charges against Daishawn Williams in relation to the aforementioned matter have been dropped by the prosecution.
HN NOTE: HN briefly spoke with Tanya, the mother of Daishawn Williams, earlier today in a phone conversation. We spoke briefly about the charges against her son being dropped. When asked if their family intended to take court action against the accuser, Tanya did not rule out the possibility of future civil action. HN twice attempted to call Tanya back earlier this afternoon to see if her son wanted to make a statement regarding this matter. HN was unable to reach Tanya or her son, but will update this story should either want to go on record at a later time.
