Officials seeking to charge Brockton Mayor Moises Rodrigues with assault and battery on a then-high schooler cleared a significant legal hurdle Friday when the clerk-magistrate of the Wrentham District Court ruled that probable cause exists to find Rodrigues committed the crime in question.
The alleged assault and battery occurred while the girl was playing in Brockton High School’s marching band during a parade this spring. She accused Rodrigues of touching her inappropriately, grabbing her and drawing her close to him in a manner she found highly upsetting.
At an Aug. 7 hearing with Clerk-Magistrate Pamela Gauvin-Fernandes, a Massachusetts State Police captain who had investigated the allegation against Rodrigues described in detail his findings, which he said showed a charge against Rodrigues would be warranted…