BELCHERTOWN — A South Hadley man accused of raping a woman last week will be held without the right to bail after an Eastern Hampshire District Court judge deemed him dangerous Thursday.

Michael Durgin, 36, pleaded not guilty Monday to two counts of rape. He adamantly denies the charges, his attorney Emily Shallcross said in court Thursday.

Durgin, who is a registered level 3 sex offender, was arrested by South Hadley Police on July 27. On that day, he invited a woman, whom he had met on the dating app Tinder, to his home for a date night, according to court documents. The two had been drinking, according to court documents.

The Gazette does not generally name alleged victims of sexual assault.

When the two arrived at Durgin’s apartment, his roommate was home and the woman told police she and Durgin were having a “good time, laughing and joking,” according to court documents.

After Durgin’s roommate left, however, his demeanor quickly changed, the woman said. Shortly afterward, he allegedly raped her, according to police reports.

In his defense, Shallcross called Durgin’s friend, Leeanne Orluk, to testify in court Thursday. Durgin and Orluk video chatted that evening while the woman was still at Durgin’s home, Orluk testified.

“He said she was going home because he let her know he was a sex offender,” Orluk said.

After that statement, Orluk said she heard the woman chuckle when Durgin made the comment.

Durgin was convicted in 2015 of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. As part of his probation on the 2015 charge, Durgin is under electronic monitoring.

Shallcross told the judge there were significant inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s statement on when she first saw Durgin’s ankle monitor. In one statement, the woman allegedly told officers she initially saw it when she got to the house but decided to stay because he was kind, Shallcross said.

The next day, the woman allegedly told police she saw the ankle monitor after the alleged physical encounter which caused her to run out of Durgin’s room, according to Shallcross.

“At no point does she bolt out of the house,” Shallcross said, recalling testimony of Orluk in which she said she saw the two of them on Durgin’s porch when she picked him up to go to a package store.

Assistant Northwestern District Attorney Robert Opsitnick Jr. said when Durgin spoke with police he did not deny having sex but said it was consensual.

Opsitnick said a friend of the woman told police she was not the same person when she was picked up from Durgin’s School Street residence.

In her ruling, Judge Michele Ouimet-Rooke told the attorneys she found statements made by the woman’s friends about her state when she was picked up “most compelling.” Ouimet-Rooke also told the attorneys she did not find Orluk’s testimony credible.

A hearing on the case is scheduled for Aug. 29.

Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.

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