A district city councilor in Lowell faces two counts of domestic assault and battery after he allegedly assaulted a woman last week at a residence in Dracut, the Middlesex district attorney’s office said Saturday.
During his arraignment Thursday in Lowell District Court, Corey M. Robinson, 46, pleaded not guilty to the charges, court records show. The case is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 11.
On Saturday, a man answered a telephone number listed for Robinson in state campaign finance records, but didn’t respond when a Globe reporter explained the reason for the call. A voicemail left at the same number and an email got no response.
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John F. Cox, Robinson’s defense attorney, said by phone Saturday that his client denies the allegations.
The charges were first reported Friday on the website of Inside Lowell, a news organization.
Prosecutors on Thursday sought a dangerousness hearing for Robinson, alleging in court papers that he targeted a woman with whom he is in a dating relationship. The woman wasn’t identified. A spokesperson for Dracut police said Saturday she was looking into the case.
Judge Michael Fabbri found Robinson fit the legal criteria for dangerousness Thursday and ordered he wear a GPS monitoring device and stay away from and have no contact with the woman he is accused of attacking while the criminal case is pending, the district attorney’s office said in an email Saturday.
Robinson spent Thursday night in the custody of the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, and returned Friday to court where he was outfitted with the GPS device, court records show.
In court papers elaborating on his dangerousness ruling, Fabbri wrote that Robinson on Wednesday allegedly put his hands around the woman’s neck and pulled her hair. He described the incident as a “serious domestic assault,” and wrote that there are reports that Robinson has previously attributed suicidal statements to the woman, which she denies.
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Fabbri also checked a box indicating that Robinson has a record of convictions, listing his previous offenses as resisting arrest, and acronyms for charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery on a police officer.
Cox said he doesn’t believe Robinson was convicted of those offenses, which date to 1998.
The judge also checked a box indicating Robinson previously has been the subject of restraining orders. Meghan Kelly, a spokesperson for Middlesex District Attorney Marian T. Ryan, said there was no active restraining order in place against Robinson when he allegedly attacked the woman on Wednesday.
Separately, prosecutors asked Fabbri to impound domestic violence and probation records for Robinson being submitted to the court.
In allowing the request, Fabbri said the woman’s name, identifying information, and “any info regarding or pertaining to an alleged sexual assault committed upon the alleged victim by the defendant” was to be kept secret, court records show. The records didn’t elaborate on any sexual assault allegations and Robinson is not facing charges of sexual misconduct. Cox said Robinson has never been charged with a sex crime.
Reached Saturday by phone, Lowell city councilors Kimberly Scott and Erik Gitschier, who also serves as the council’s vice chair, declined to comment, saying they didn’t know the facts.
A third city councilor, Paul Ratha Yem, said he wasn’t aware of the allegations.
Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau, City Manager Thomas A. Golden Jr., and the remaining city councilors didn’t respond to messages.
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Robinson was easily reelected to his council seat representing District 2earlier this month.
He was first elected to the seat in 2021 and his campaign was highlighted on the website of SEIU Local 888, which described him as a local chapter vice president in Tyngsborough. He still serves in that position, the union said Saturday.
The district Robinson represents was established after a federal voting rights lawsuit filed in 2017 challenged the municipal voting system in Lowell, which at the time was entirely at-large. He became the first biracial person to serve on the council when he was sworn into office in 2022.
Court records show Robinson works as a laborer for the town of Tyngsborough and lives with his mother. He previously worked for the public works department in Lowell, according to his campaign website.
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her @lauracrimaldi.