Police Searching for Suspect in Attack

Police are searching for a male suspect after another woman was attacked last week on her way home from the train station. This is the sixth attack on a woman in East Boston since August.

The incident occurred last Wednesday at 1 a.m. The victim told officers she was physically assaulted while walking in the area of Meridian and Lexington Streets. According to the victim, she was walking along Meridian Street after exiting the Maverick MBTA Station when a male suspect approached from behind and pushed her to the ground.

While she was fighting with the suspect, a Good Samaritan, hearing the commotion from across the street, came to her aid and frightened the suspect off.  The suspect was last seen fleeing the area towards Border Street.

The suspect is described as a dark-skinned Hispanic male with a birth mark on his face (possibly left cheek), stocky build, approximately 5’2” tall, late twenties in age, wearing a black sweater with a white shirt and blue jeans. The victim further states that the suspect spoke to her in Spanish.

Officers promptly broadcast a description of the suspect over the police, however, a search of the area proved unsuccessful. The victim, meantime, refused medical attention.

Earlier this month police arrested Carlos Bonilla, of East Boston for a sexual assault that occurred at the corner of Brook and Saratoga Streets. Bonilla, a registered sex offender, was reported to be wearing a monitoring bracelet on his ankle, which placed him at the scene of the crime.

Bonilla was arrested after three women were attacked between October 2 and 3.

The first assaults occurred at Princeton and Putnam Streets at approximately 11:45 p.m. on October 2. The female victim described the suspect as a black Hispanic or Mediterranean male with a dark complexion, approximately 5’6”, stocky build, wearing jeans and a light grey sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up. The suspect fled down Putnam Street and possibly entered a grey van or SUV traveling on Princeton Street towards Bennington Street.

Following that incident two more woman were attacked the following morning on October 3.

The first female victim was approached from behind at approximately 6:15 a.m. in the area of Lexington and Putnam Streets. The suspect engaged her in a brief conversation and indecently assaulted the victim and fled down Putnam Street towards Day Square.

The suspect was described as a black or black Hispanic male, dark complexion approximately 30 years of age, approximately 5’7”, approximately 150 pounds, medium build, wearing a black “hoodie” turned up and black pants.

A second female victim described a similar incident, which occurred several blocks away at the corner of Brooks and Paris Streets. The victim was approached from behind by a suspect who indecently assaulted her and after a struggle the victim fought off her attacker who fled on Brooks Street towards Day Square. This incident occurred only a few minutes after the first incident that day.

That suspect was described as a black non Hispanic male, dark complexion approximately 25 years of age, approximately 5’9”, approximately 180 pounds, with a medium build and brown eyes wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and a black baseball cap.

Before these five sexual assaults and a communitywide meeting to address the problem, Commissioner Ed Davis said the Boston Police had put a show of force on the streets. This was in response to two very disturbing incidents that happened in the neighborhood back in August and September.

On August 27 police were called to the McKay School on Cottage Street in East Boston. On arrival, officers discovered a woman in her forties suffering from facial trauma. Boston EMS responded and transported the victim to a local hospital for additional medical treatment.

The victim told police two men forced her into a vehicle and sexually assaulted her. She described her attackers as Hispanic males. The first suspect is described as a male, approximately 30 to 40 years of age, with a heavy build and a mustache. The second suspect is described as a male in his twenties with a thin build.

The assault is still under investigation by the Boston Police Sexual Assault Unit.

Then in September officers responded to a report of a woman screaming in the area of Coleridge Street.

On arrival, officers spoke with two female victims who said an armed suspect broke into their home. The victims told police the suspect held them at gunpoint, demanded money, attempted to rape them and then viciously beat one of them with his handgun.  One of victims managed to escape and ran for help. The suspect fled the area in an unknown direction.

The suspect is described as a white Non-Hispanic male, approximately 6’ tall, medium build, 180 lbs, appeared to be in his late 20’s to mid-30’s, clean shaven and was wearing a black knit hat, a short sleeve grey t-shirt and dark shorts.

In response to the sexual assaults, the Boston Police Department is offering a free women’s self defense program called RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) to women in the community.

The program, sponsored by the Boston Police, Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association (JPNA) and the Jeffries Yacht Club will run the class beginning on Wednesdays, November 7 through December 12 from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at the Yacht Club, 565 Sumner St.

The course will consist of six two-hour sessions. The first class is partially administrative.  All the other classes are physically interactive. The Police said clothing should be typical gym clothing like loose fitting sweat pants and/or jeans okay, sneakers but no jewelry. A certified self-defense instructor will teach all classes.

The RAD approach to personal safety education embodies a practical blend of threat avoidance strategies and real world assault resistance tactics for women.

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