Boston serial rape suspect Matthew Nilo, 35, pleads not guilty to new sexual assault charges

Boston serial rape suspect Matthew Nilo has pleaded not guilty to new charges related to the sexual assault of another four women 15 years ago, as his attorney accused the government of pushing unsolved cases onto his client.

Nilo, now a New Jersey attorney, was indicted Thursday on seven new charges related to assaults on women in Boston’s historic North End neighborhood between 2007 and 2008.

The 35-year-old’s new charges include one count of both rape and aggravated rape, three counts of assault to rape and two counts of assault and battery, according to legal documents.

Nilo, who was supported in court by his fiancée Laura Griffin, was previously charged with a series of incidents involving four different women in the affluent Charlestown neighborhood, to which he has also pleaded not guilty.

A clerk on Thursday set his bail at $50,000 cash, which his attorney said his client intended to pay immediately.

Joseph Cataldo lashed out at the new charges on Thursday after the arraignment.

“They have not turned over any discovery of the new allegations, no police reports,” he said Fox news.

“I think they’re trying to solve some unsolved cases, and I think the government might go ahead and just try to claim that Mr. Nilo committed these crimes.”

The attacks occurred in January 2007, July 2007, January 2008 and July 2008, prosecutors said.

Nilo pleaded not guilty to the charges over the incidents involving the first four women, and was released from Boston jail after his fiancée posted $500,000 of his $5 million bail and was fitted with a GPS ankle monitor.

He was about 19 to 20 years old at the time of the attacks and was working as a cyber-claims attorney for Cowbell insurance company at the time of his arrest earlier this year.

Nilo’s employment was suspended pending the ongoing rape investigation.

Suffolk District Attorney Kevin R. Hayden told reporters Thursday that the new charges against Nilo follow a similar pattern to the Charlestown attacks, the Boston Globe reported.

“One of the victims was even assaulted twice in just 11 days,” Hayden said.

“The attacks occurred at a time when Matthew Nilo lived in the North End and coincided with the attacks on other women in Charlestown, for which Mr. Nilo had previously been charged.”

The prosecution said he hoped advances in DNA technology would provide the evidence needed to convict Nilo.

“Nothing can take away the terror from these survivors,” Hayden said.

“But at least now they know that Mr. Nilo has to answer the horrible [crimes] he would have committed. We hope this offers some comfort to the survivors of these attacks.’

When asked why no action had been taken to ensure Nilo was not released on bail, the prosecutor suggested that because the incidents were 15 years ago, he is still not considered a threat to society.

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for September 14.

Nilo’s attorney, Joseph Cataldo, said in a statement last month, “You can expect both legal and factual challenge to the government’s case.”

Prosecutors allege that Boston native Nilo assaulted four women in the North End in 2007 and 2008 — including two assaults on the same woman just 11 days apart.

An attack on January 14, 2008 occurred in the middle of a snow storm, WCVB reports, while another occurred on July 4, 2008.

The series of attacks caused tension in the neighborhood at the time, as police warned women to be vigilant and even carry rape whistles.

Authorities believed the rapes were related and released a composite sketch of the suspect.

“The newly charged attacks occurred during the time when Nilo was living in the North End and during the same period as the attacks on women in Charlestown, for which Nilo has already been charged,” the Suffolk County District Attorney said in a statement announcing the new charges. .

The incidents followed a similar pattern. The victims were attacked while walking alone, in the dark, at night or early in the morning.’

Police arrested Nilo on May 30 in an FBI sting in which he was lured from the luxury harborfront apartment he shared with his fiancé, Laura Griffin, claiming a package had been delivered that was too large to fit in the posh fit facility. lockers.

Law enforcement officials claim to have linked Nilo to the four Charlestown attacks with DNA evidence identified through the genealogy database 23 and Me, to which family members voluntarily provided samples.

The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative — a federal program designed to help process a backlog of rape kits — was used in the investigation after Boston police reached out last October.

In April, according to FBI Special Agent Joseph R Bonavolonta, Nilo had been identified as a suspect.

He then waived his extradition to Massachusetts and was charged with the Charlestown rapes, in which prosecutors say Nilo picked up downtown women and took them to Terminal Street, where he allegedly assaulted them.

Nilo’s first alleged victim, Lori Pinkham, spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com and shared her ordeal publicly.

Pinkham admitted she had lost hope that her attacker would ever be caught and said she was “in disbelief and awe” when police arrived at her home and told her they had identified him.

“He is a very bad person and he used guns and violence to violently kidnap and rape multiple women,” she said.

Pinkham could not go into details of her own attack, she said, but is willing to testify against Nilo if prosecutors are called to do so.

Meanwhile, Nilo’s attorney says he intends to challenge the constitutionality of the evidence gathered by police and federal authorities to arrest him.

Nilo was released from a Boston jail on June 15 after Griffin posted $500,000 for his bail.

He was fitted with a GPS tracker and released on the condition that he surrender his passport, have no contact with the victims or witnesses, and stay at least 300 meters from Terminal Street.

Exclusive photos and videos from DailyMail.com show Nilo walking out of the courthouse with Griffin, who held his hand tight the entire time.

There could be even more charges to come as police in Madison, Wisconsin – where Nilo went to college – look back at their old cases to see if there is any connection to the suspect.

“Our detectives are aware of Matthew Nilo,” police said in a statement to WCVB. “We’re working with the Boston Police Department [and] looking at old cases to see if there’s a connection.’