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Philip Chism to be held in tighter security

Phillip Chism, 15, is charged as an adult in Essex Superior Court with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated rape for the Oct. 22, 2013, killing of Colleen Ritzer.AP/The Eagle-Tribune, Paul Bilodeau, Pool

Philip D. Chism, accused of the rape and slaying of a Danvers teacher, will be returned to Department of Youth Services custody, but this time he will be held under tighter security after his alleged attack Monday on a female staff member in a Dorchester DYS building, an official said.

Chism, 15, is charged as an adult in Essex Superior Court with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated rape in the Oct. 22, 2013, killing of Colleen Ritzer, a mathematics teacher at Danvers High School. Chism has pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail. Because of Chism’s age, DYS has custody of him on behalf of Essex County Sheriff Frank G. Cousin’s office.

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On Monday afternoon, officials have said, Chism assaulted a woman at the Dorchester facility. The woman declined medical treatment, and the incident is under investigaton by State Police assigned to Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office.

Chism was taken to Boston Medical Center after the alleged assault. His transfer back to DYS was expected to be completed Thursday.

A spokesman for Sheriff Cousins, Assistant Superintendent Maurice Pratt, said Thursday that Chism will not be returning to the facility in Dorchester where the alleged assault took place.

“The [Dorchester] facility was not a locked-down facility,’’ Pratt said. “This one is.’’

Pratt said the sheriff's office has confidence in DYS staff. “They have very capable people that are used to handling the type of people that need to be in a secure facility,’’ Pratt said.

Pratt said he did not know where in the DYS network Chism will be held. A spokesman for DYS declined to comment.


John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe.
com
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