Boston serial rape suspect, attorney Matthew Nilo, pleads not guilty
DNA from drinking glass used to link him to attacks, DA says
DNA from drinking glass used to link him to attacks, DA says
DNA from drinking glass used to link him to attacks, DA says
An attorney arrested in New Jersey and charged with sexually assaulting four women in Charlestown 15 years ago faced charges Monday in a Massachusetts courtroom.
Matthew Nilo, 35, a Manhattan corporate attorney who was raised in the North End, pleaded not guilty in Suffolk Superior Court 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.
Prosecutors laid out allegations that involve four alleged incidents in 2007 and 2008, in which some of the victims were held at gunpoint.
Three women reported being raped by a man who picked them up in a car and drove them to Terminal Street in Charlestown. A fourth woman reported being attacked by a man while she was out on a jog.
According to prosecutors, Boston police revisited the investigation into the four unsolved assaults last year.
In court Monday, the prosecutor detailed the three separate attacks, and how the victims were threatened.
"Once outside of the car, the male told her to shut up or he would kill her and that he had a weapon," Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Lynn Feigenbaum said of the first rape allegation. "The male proceeded to rape her on the grassy area near railroad tracks."
In the second allegation, the victim said the man showed her a knife.
"He flashed a small knife at her he then drove to Terminal Street in Charlestown where he ordered the victim out of the car, knocked her to the ground and raped her," Feigenbaum said.
In the third allegation, the victim said the assailant had a gun.
"After they got out of the car, he tackled the victim to the ground, held a gun to her back raped her," Feigenbaum said.
The fourth attack involved a jogger, who told police, “A man ran up behind her, put arms around her upper body in a bear hug and tackled her to the ground with his right arm around her neck,” Feigenbaum said.
The man put his hand into her pants and told her he had a gun. The woman was able to fight him off.
Officials employed forensic investigative genealogy, in which investigators searched publicly accessible DNA databases and identified Nilo as a person of interest. He was placed under surveillance earlier this year.
“FBI agents were able to obtain various utensils and drinking glasses they watched the defendant use at a corporate event. From one of the glasses, the Boston Police Crime Lab was able to obtain a male DNA profile, which is found to match the suspect profile from the three Terminal Street rapes,” Feigenbaum said.
NewsCenter 5 legal analyst Vince DeMore says the critical link likely came from a well-known genealogy site.
"The family member may have no idea who Matthew Nilo is," DeMore said. "This could be a third cousin twice removed. Doesn't need to be mother, father, brother sister."
"It's very likely when the person submitted DNA to find genealogical profile, they had no idea they were helping crack a series of sexual assaults in the Boston area," DeMore said.
Investigators say they used publicly available DNA databases to help them zero in Nilo.
Nilo was arrested outside his New Jersey apartment last week. He waived extradition to return to Massachusetts to face the charges.
His fiancée had no comment outside of court, however, Nilo’s defense attorney, Joseph Cataldo, who represented Michelle Carter, spoke briefly after the proceeding.
“I do understand that the procedures used by law enforcement are somewhat suspect. It seems that they obtained DNA evidence without ever obtaining a search warrant. If that turns out to be true, that’s an issue that will be pursued vigorously,” Cataldo said.
Nilo was held on bail at $500,000 and ordered to wear a GPS tracker if released, surrender his passport, have no contact with the victims and stay 1000 feet away from Terminal Street in Charlestown unless accompanied by his attorney.
He is set to return to court on June 12 for a bail review hearing.
Nilo attended the Boston Latin School and went on to college in Wisconsin. After college graduation, Nilo worked at a Boston law firm screening potential cases and then attended law school in San Francisco.
He moved back to the East Coast in 2019 and most recently has been working for a cyber insurance firm, which announced Sunday night that they had suspended his employment.
On Tuesday, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox noted that resources from the Boston Police's Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) assisted in the investigation that led to this arrest, in addition to resources from the Suffolk County DA's office and the FBI.
"The efforts were launched in May of last year to review unsolved sexual assault cases that posed the most threat to public safety," Cox said.
Video below: 5 Investigates reports on serial rape investigation