NORTHAMPTON — A Southampton loan officer and broker pleaded not guilty Friday in Hampshire Superior Court to a series of sexual assault charges, including rape, and threatening to commit a crime (murder), related to alleged incidents in 2017 and 2022 in his hometown.

Mathieu James Tebo, 40, entered the not guilty plea at an arraignment before Judge Richard J. Carey to the 22 indictments handed down by a grand jury on Dec. 22.

Tebo will be held without right to bail until a dangerousness hearing Jan. 20 at 10 a.m.

Both Tebo’s attorney, Judith C. Knight of Great Barrington, and Assistant District Attorney Sandra J. Staub, who is prosecuting the case, agreed to the pretrial detention.

With several family members and at least one of the victims at the arraignment, emotions ran high when Tebo was brought into the courtroom, with a court officer handing them a box of tissues. The charges relate to multiple victims, according to court documents.

Tebo is facing two counts of aggravated rape, four counts of rape, two counts of indecent assault on a person 14 and older, two counts of strangulation or suffocation, two counts of stalking, two counts of assault and battery on a family member, two counts of threat to commit a crime and single charges of kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, violating an abuse prevention order, extortion by threat of injury and intimidating a witness, according to the indictments.

The indictments provide more details about the alleged incidents, all of which took place in Southampton. Two counts of aggravated rape, kidnapping and indecent assault and battery are related to incidents on Aug. 25, 2022, while two counts of rape stem from incidents on June 23, 2022 and between Aug. 1 and Aug. 21, 2022. The charges of strangulation and assault and battery on a family member allegedly occurred on June 23, 2022, while the suffocation charge dates from between Aug. 1 and Aug. 21, 2022, and the stalking from between June 18 and Aug. 26, 2022.

Other charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon (a lighter), assault and battery on a family member, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a belt), allegedly occurred on various dates in August 2022. Charges of intimidation of a witness and violation of an abuse prevention order date to Oct. 18, 2022, attempted extortion between June 18 and Aug. 26, 2022, and two threats to commit a crime (murder), both on Aug. 21, 2022.

Another two counts of rape are alleged to have occurred between Sept. 15 and Nov. 1, 2017 and Nov. 1 and Nov. 30, 2017, another stalking charge dates from Sept. 1 to Dec. 3, 2017, and indecent assault and battery from between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30, 2017.

Gathering outside the courtroom after the brief arraignment, family members declined to comment on the case at this time.

Scott Merzbach can be smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>