Chiropractor Bruce Fernandes charged with rape of 9 year-old girl

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) - A Hyannis man has been ordered held on $5,000 bail after pleading not guilty to raping a 9-year-old girl.

Bruce Fernandes was arraigned Monday in Barnstable District Court on charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and rape of a child with force.

Prosecutors say the 58-year-old Fernandes allegedly assaulted the girl at a Yarmouth home last month where his girlfriend was caring for the child.

The Cape Cod Times reports that prosecutors allege while his girlfriend was helping the mother, who uses a wheelchair, Fernandes assaulted the child in another room.

The girl allegedly told her mother that Fernandes touched her on her chest and under her underwear.

Fernandes is an out-of-work chiropractor and his lawyer says he has deep ties to the region.