The New Jersey lawyer accused of a series of sexual assaults in Boston more than a decade ago was indicted Tuesday on new charges of rape and assault, authorities said.
Matthew Nilo, 35, was indicted on seven additional counts — of rape, aggravated rape, assault with intent to rape and indecent assault and battery — related to a series of attacks that authorities say occurred between January 2007 and July 2008, according to a news release from the office of Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden.
The new charges are linked to five attacks on four women in the North End neighborhood of Boston — where Nilo used to live — in the months of January and July of 2007 and 2008, according to the district attorney’s office, which added that one of the victims was attacked twice, eleven days apart.
“The victims were attacked while they were walking alone, in the dark, either at night or early in the morning,” according to the district attorney’s office.
Hayden said that DNA evidence played a role in the new indictments but he did not elaborate, adding that more information will be released at his arraignment. It was not immediately clear when his arraignment was scheduled for. A spokesperson for the district attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to questions Wednesday.
Nilo was arrested last month outside his Weehawken, New Jersey, residence on 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 for incidents that occurred in the area of Terminal Street in the Charlestown neighborhood in August and November 2007 and August and December 2008, the Boston Police Department said at the time.
After his arrest, Nilo’s attorney, Jeff Garrigan, said that Nilo was “looking forward to fighting these charges and showing that he’s innocent.”
It is unclear if Garrigan is still representing Nilo and he could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. Nilo could not be reached for comment Wednesday at phone numbers publicly listed under his name.
Nilo waived extradition in New Jersey on June 1 and was arraigned June 5 on the initial slate of charges in Suffolk Superior Court, where he pleaded not guilty He was released from custody on June 15 after posting $500,000 cash bail, according to the district attorney’s office.
Authorities said investigative genetic genealogy — which has been used to identify several victims and suspects in recent years — helped them crack the case after they reopened it last year.
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