Sexual Crimes

October 2, 2008

Massachusetts Sex Offender With Weapon Said To Be Violent Or Selfless…Depending On The Circumstances

“Uncle Marky”, as he is known to Cape Cod children is in trouble again. He got shot by a Harwich police officer Monday night.

Court and police records describe Marcus M, whose last name has again been changed to “Defendant” as a violent and troubled soul. At the ripe old age of 29, he seems to have already displayed an impressive gift for criminal consistency.

Defendant is a Dennis-Yarmouth High School dropout and the father of one child. He is a Level 2 sex offender after his conviction in 1998 for raping a child, 13, with force, in a dugout at the youth league baseball field on Wixon Middle School grounds in Dennis in December of 1996. At the time, prosecutors said he already had a history of violence and was serving a suspended sentence for assault in Dennis.

September 23, 2008

Sex For Money For Drugs Drama Has Its Final Act This Friday In Springfield, Massachusetts

by Altman & Altman

Last Wednesday, a Hampden Superior Court jury returned with a verdict in a case of alleged unarmed robbery of a person 60 years old or older.

The cast of this particular drama included two defendants. They were Aretha Hallums, 40, and Donald Alford, 55. Cast in the role of victim was the elder Edward Foster, formerly of Springfield. The scene of the facts at issue was outside the Bay Street Social Club at Bay and Catherine streets, apparently an unlicensed bar.

Particularly helpful for the jury, I would imagine, was that both defendants testified in their own behalf…each contradicting the other.

September 18, 2008

Haverhill, Massachusetts, Police Officers Get Lucky At Prostitution Bust And Turn To Drug War

by Altman & Altman

Last night, all major crimes of the area having apparently been prevented or solved, Haverhill police officers set their sights on their admittedly decreasing prostitution concern. It was said to be a lucky break in their war against drugs.

They ended up arresting a “major cocaine dealer” who had a drug sales ledger containing the names of “prominent” Haverhill residents. The ledger, according to the police, will kick off an investigation that could lead to a series of arrests.

Christos Eleftheriou, 45, of Haverhill, was arrested at 8:11 p.m. after he propositioned a woman police officer for sex during the prostitution sting, said police spokesman Sgt. John Arahovites. He was charged with sexual conduct for a fee and brought to the police station, where police found 16 grams of powdered cocaine in five bags on him with a street value of $16,200, along with $340 in cash, Sgt. Arahovites said.

September 16, 2008

To The South Of Boston, A Trial For Rape May Be The Accused’s Least Concern Given DNA match To Prostitute’s Murder

by Altman & Altman

In Worcester Superior Court, testimony is scheduled to begin today in the trial of a Berlin man charged with raping and trying to suffocate a woman last year in a West Boylston motel. The defendant, Alex F. Scesny, 38, has also been identified by law enforcement as a “person of interest” in the unsolved slayings of several area prostitutes. Today he is facing trial on charges of rape, assault with intent to murder, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (to wit: a pillow) allegedly occurring on March 17, 2007.

In April, District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. labeled Mr. Scesny a “person of interest” in the 1996 strangulation death of 39-year-old Theresa K. Stone in Fitchburg. Cold case investigators turned their attention to Mr. Scesny after a DNA profile derived from biological evidence recovered in the West Boylston rape investigation was shown to match a genetic profile from a swab taken during Ms. Stone’s autopsy, according to a state police affidavit filed in court. He later described Mr. Scesny as a “person of interest” in the deaths of five other women who were known to have worked as prostitutes in the Main South section of the city.

While Scesny’s DNA has only linked him to Theresa Stone’s murder, the similarities between the cases has stirred fears of a possible serial killer.

September 12, 2008

Criminal Justice Odds Being Beat In New Bedford, MA

by Altman & Altman

In New Bedford, Massachusetts, what appears to be a man walking with a figurative “Please Lock Me Up Forever” sign on his back is beating incredible odds.

The man, Allen Thurston, 36, is a convicted level 3 sex offender. After he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, he was arraigned yesterday in New Bedford District Court on an assault and battery charge.

The prosecutor pressed the court to revoke Thurston’s bail; the judge would not do so. Police, naturally, are said to be “concerned” as to why his bail was set so low. Their reasons seem logical enough:

September 4, 2008

North Of Boston, An Alleged Teenage Crimewave Faces Actual Jail

by Altman & Altman

Yesterday’s Salem Daily News told the tale of Angelo Diiorio, age 18. The young man, had been ordered by the court to confine himself to his home while awaiting trial on charges of vehicular homicide and child rape. In fact, he was even ordered to wear an ankle bracelet. According to the police, however, this condition of release was a bit too difficult for Mr. Diiorio to follow as he was found behind a Danvers business attending a meeting (scheduled fight) with another youth this past Saturday night. The court remedied the youth’s impulsivity by making him a guest of the Commonwealth for 60 days.

According to law enforcement, the two teens were arrested at approximately 10 p.m. as they were in mid-conference (“swinging at each other”) regarding a desired acquisition (a girl). The meeting was forcibly adjourned with the resulting charges of disorderly conduct, trespassing, and possession of marijuana. For poor lovesick Diiorio, however, these charges were the least of his problems as the arrest resulted in the court’s revoking Diiorio’s bail in his pending Salem rape case. Diiorio had been indicted last year on a charge of rape, which involved the alleged sexual assault on an 11-year-old girl during a Christmas Eve gathering in Danvers in 2006. Two weeks later, on January 5, 2007, Diiorio was allegedly at the wheel of a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse when he lost control on Route 1 in Revere and crashed, killing a 17-year-old girl in Peabody, for which he faces charges of vehicular homicide and negligent driving to endanger. Investigators say the crash was caused when Diiorio and another driver decided to race each other on the highway.

The respective prosecutors in these cases opined to the court that his latest arrest indicates Diiorio doesn’t take court orders seriously.

August 25, 2008

Several Criminal Charges Dropped Against Carnival Worker Accused of Raping Two Teens in Massachusetts

by Altman & Altman

In Boston, prosecutors have dropped a number of the criminal charges filed against carnival worker Jeffrey Witham. The 19-year-old who was accused of raping two teenagers, ages 13 and 14, in Marshfield, had been charged with two counts of statutory rape, two counts of rape of a child with force, indecent assault and battery of a child, as well as kidnapping. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Witham is accused of having sex with the young girls after meeting them at the carnival. Police arrested him after the father of one of the girls reported the alleged sexual attacks.

Since then, one of the girls has recanted her accusations against him and the other girl has revised her account of the incident. Following the dropped charges of one count each of rape of a child with force, kidnapping, and assault and battery, Boston Superior Court Judge Joseph Walker released Witham from jail and said that the teenager will only need to post the $50,000 bail if he violates the conditions of his release. The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office dropped the charges after it concluded that there was not enough evidence to support them being filed.

Bail had initially been set to $150,000 until the girls’ revised their accounts of what happened. One girl even admitted to having consensual sex with Witham. The 19-year-old’s criminal defense attorney says he is the victim of a ‘set-up” by the young teens.

Judge sets Jeffrey Witham free, BostonHerald.com, August 23, 2008
Fair Worker Released When Some Charges Dropped, WCVBTV/TheBostonChannel.com, August 22, 2008
Authorities drop some charges against Marshfield Fair rape suspect, Boston.com, August 21, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Sexual Assault and Rape, Norfolk District Attorney’s Office, Mass.gov
Mass Law About Rape and Sexual Assault

Massachusetts Law About Sex
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August 21, 2008

Boston Deputy Fire Chief Charged With Rape, Kidnapping, and Impersonating a Police Officer Pleads Not Guilty

by Altman & Altman

In Brockton District Court, Boston Fire Chief Peter Pearson was arraigned on Wednesday on charges of impersonating a police officer, armed kidnapping, and rape. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and posted $50,000 cash bail. He will have to wear a GPS monitoring device.

The charges are related to an incident that occurred in Brockton a few months ago. The alleged victim, who had been detained on the charge of being a common nightwalker, said that she had been raped by a patrol officer a couple of weeks prior to her arrest.

Earlier this week, the alleged victim identified Pearson as the man that pretended to be a police officer and raped her at gunpoint. She and her boyfriend had seen him walking down Haverhill Street, and they contacted police who apprehended the deputy fire chief.

At Pearson’s arraignment, a prosecutor accused Pearson of stalking the victim for three weeks before pretending to be a cop and kidnapping her at gunpoint. The deputy fire chief is licensed to carry a firearm.

Pearson’s defense attorney calls the allegations baseless. Boston police say there is no physical evidence connecting the deputy fire chief to the rape. Pearson has been married for 30 years and has two children. He has worked for the Boston fire department for over 20 years, where he is the Division 2 deputy chief.
Fire official pleads not guilty to rape, Boston.com, August 21, 2008
Deputy fire chief accused of rape, BostonHerald.com, August 20, 2008
BFD deputy Pearson faced sex for a fee charge in 1996, BostonHerald.com, August 20, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Boston Fire Department

The General Laws of Massachusetts
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August 11, 2008

DNA Technology Clears One Man Wrongly Convicted of Rape and Leads to Arrest of Dorchester Man For Multiple Unsolved Rape Cases

by Altman & Altman

Police in Massachusetts have arrested Jerry Dixon, a 35-year-old man in connection to a number of unsolved rapes that happened almost 20 years ago. The arrest comes four years after another man, Anthony Powell, was released from prison for serving 12 ½ years of his sentence for a rape crime he did not commit.

Powell’s conviction for rape and kidnapping were vacated in 2004 after DNA evidence proved that he did not rape his alleged victim. Last year, Powell filed a lawsuit against police in federal court accusing them of twisting forensic test results and using unreliable witnesses to wrongfully convict him.

Investigators looking through an FBI database in 2004 identified four unsolved Boston rape cases that did not name a perpetrator. Using DNA evidence, a Suffolk County grand jury indicted an unknown person, listing him as “John Doe” for three rapes-the ones that occurred in 1989 and 1991. The indictment came right before the statute of limitations for prosecuting the cases had ended. The 15-year statute of limitations for the February 1999 case will not expire for some time.

July 17, 2008

Civil Rights Injunction Filed Against Massachusetts State Senator James Marzilli

by Altman & Altman

In Middlesex Superior Court, the attorney for three plaintiffs that are accusing Massachusetts State Senator James Marzilli of sexual harassment has filed an action requesting a civil rights injunction. The injunction would operate like a restraining order and carry a penalty of up to 10 years in state prison if he is ever convicted of assaulting a woman once the injunction were issued.

Marzilli has been indicted of accosting a person of the opposite sex. He was arrested after he allegedly went up to several women on June 3 in Lowell and asked them for sex or tried to grab them. Police apprehended him following a pursuit on foot. The incidents occurred when he was in Lowell on official business.

Shortly after his arrest, Marzilli was hospitalized at McLean Hospital and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He was indicted earlier this month on charges of annoying and accosting people of the opposite sex, indecent assault and battery, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.

In an unrelated incident in May, Middlesex County prosecutors said they would not file criminal charges against him following an investigation into charges filed by a woman accusing Marzilli of touching her inappropriately without her permission. Just this week, two other women came forward to file a sex abuse lawsuit against Marzilli. One woman is accusing him of lewd sexual conduct while another woman claims that she woke up in his guestroom to discover the senator on top of her.

Massachusetts Civil Rights Injunctions
The Massachusetts Civil Rights Act allows for an injunction to be issued for individuals that are the victims of intimidation, threats, or coercion because of their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, country of origin, or disability. A person that violates a civil rights injunction can end up in jail. The penalty may require time in state prison if someone gets hurt.

Two more allegations, WickedLocal.com, July 15, 2008
Related Web Resources:
2 more woman allege harassment by Sen. James Marzilli, BostonHerald.com, July 16, 2008
Your Rights Under the Massachusetts Civil RIghts Act
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