Boston man charged with rape at Martha's Vineyard State Police barracks
Edward Joseph Brown, 27, a Boston Public Schools security employee, was arraigned on a felony rape charge in Edgartown District Court after an alleged assault in August.
Boston man arraigned on rape charge allegedly committed at Oak Bluffs police barracks
Edward Joseph Brown, 27, of Boston pleaded not guilty to a felony rape charge at Edgartown District Court on Tuesday, according to mvtimes.com. The charge stems from an Oak Bluffs Police investigation into a reported sexual assault that allegedly took place at the Massachusetts State Police barracks on Temahigan Road in Oak Bluffs this past summer.
The investigation began in the early hours of August 15, when a woman was found lying in the street outside the State Police barracks. Bystanders drove her to hospital, where Oak Bluffs Police officers interviewed her, Assistant District Attorney Courtney Scalice stated during the arraignment.
Brown works in the Department of Safety Services for Boston Public Schools and was serving as an assistant security administrator at Boston Latin Academy in Roxbury when Boston Police arrested him last Friday. He is currently held at the Dukes County Correctional Facility. His attorney, Anthony R. Ellison, noted that Brown comes from a family prominent in the Boston area. The alleged victim, who is not from the United States, has since returned to her home country of Ireland.
Brown and the alleged victim have no affiliation with the State Police. According to the statement of facts read out by Scalice, Brown was visiting State Police Trooper Ryan Costello, who was assigned to Martha's Vineyard for the summer and lived at the barracks at the time. Separately, the state department opened an internal affairs investigation into the matter. State Police did not respond to a request for comment by print deadline.
Exterior surveillance footage from Circuit Avenue, captured in the early hours of August 15, showed a male wearing a white cap approaching the alleged victim before the two shared an Uber. The Uber driver told police he picked up a male who matched Brown's description and did not appear intoxicated, and a female who appeared very intoxicated. Records obtained via search warrant showed the trip ended at the State Police barracks at approximately 12:27 am.
A bouncer from the Ritz contacted police on August 23, saying he might have a photo of the suspect from earlier in the summer. The bouncer did not know the suspect's name but said he knew the man was friends with State Police troopers. Oak Bluffs Police subsequently contacted Costello by text and phone on August 29. Costello confirmed he recognised the person in the photo as Brown, a college acquaintance from Boston, and said Brown had visited over the weekend of August 15 and stayed at the barracks. Costello told officers that although they went to the Ritz together on the night of August 14, there was a period during which he did not know where Brown was.
Also on August 29, police spoke to Ben deBettencourt, who said he had been with his girlfriend, Costello, and Brown at the Ritz between the night of August 14 and the early hours of August 15. DeBettencourt told officers he saw Brown engaged in what appeared to be a friendly conversation with a woman who shared the same hair colour as the alleged victim. He said he left the bar before Costello and Brown. The following morning, deBettencourt and his girlfriend visited Costello at the barracks, where Costello asked deBettencourt to drive Brown to the Steamship Authority ferry. DeBettencourt noted that Brown was unusually quiet during the ride.
Oak Bluffs Police executed a search warrant at the State Police barracks on September 1 to recover the alleged victim's clothing and mobile phone. As of Tuesday, October 13, the clothing had still not been located, Scalice said.
Around September 11, Costello's attorney provided the commonwealth with screenshots of text messages exchanged between Costello and Brown on the night of the incident and the following day. In those messages, Brown told Costello that he had been with a female and that he had gone to Costello's roommate's room to obtain condoms.
Costello was subsequently interviewed by the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office in the presence of his attorney, a Massachusetts State Police Union representative, and other members of law enforcement.
The Oak Bluffs barracks at 51 Temahigan Road serve as living quarters for officers stationed on the island. The official State Police website lists guest parking and directs the public to call ahead for hours of operation, but does not specify whether civilian guests are permitted to stay overnight. Greg Turner, media relations director for Massachusetts State Police, did not respond to requests for comment about the barracks' overnight guest policy by print deadline.
Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle, who had previously stated in a September 10 release that officers "responded to a report involving a woman in distress and immediately initiated an investigation," told reporters Wednesday that he could not comment further and directed inquiries to the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office, which also declined to comment further. Prosecutors noted that the case is still developing.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)