Lawyer tied to rapes by DNA left on drinking glass is accused of 5 more attacks

Posted at 11:42 AM, June 28, 2023

A New Jersey lawyer recently charged with sexually assaulting four women in Boston 15 years ago — attacks he was linked to by DNA he left on a drinking glass — has been indicted on suspicion of five additional attacks during the same time period.

Matthew Nilo is arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Monday, June 5, 2023

FILE – Matthew Nilo is arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston, Monday, June 5, 2023, on rape charges stemming from assaults in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood from August 2007 through December 2008. His attorney, Joseph Cataldo, is at left. Nilo is expected to post bail, his attorney said at a brief court hearing on Monday, June 12. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP, Pool, File)

Matthew Nilo, 35, was indicted Tuesday on seven charges stemming from five attacks on four women in Boston’s North End, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden. The attacks happened between January 2007 and July 2008 while the victims were walking alone in the dark, either at night or early in the morning, Hayden said. One woman was attacked twice, 11 days apart, he said in a news release.

“This case demonstrates that no attack will go uninvestigated, no suspect will go unpursued, and no amount of time will insulate a criminal from a crime,” he said.

READ MORE | Evidence causes delay in trial for attorney tied to rapes by DNA

Nilo’s attorney, Joseph Cataldo, did not respond to a phone message Wednesday.

Nilo, of Weehawken, New Jersey, was arrested in late May and pleaded not guilty this month to three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape, and one count of indecent assault and battery. Those charges stem from four attacks in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood from August 2007 through December 2008 — when, authorities say, Nilo lived in the city.

Prosecutors have said Nilo was tied to those attacks through DNA obtained from a drinking glass he used at a corporate function this year. Cataldo has questioned the legality of taking DNA without a warrant.

The new indictments charge Nilo with one count of rape, one count of aggravated rape, three counts of assault with intent to rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery.

Nilo, who was released on bail this month, is due in court on the new charges July 13.

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