NJ lawyer, 35, pleads not guilty to raping four women as college students in Boston 15 years ago
A New Jersey lawyer has pleaded not guilty to the rape of four college women in 2007 and 2008.
Matthew Nilo, 35, denied assaulting four different women during his appearance in Suffolk Superior Court this morning.
He is charged with three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape and one count of assault and battery.
Nilo, who was linked to the crimes by DNA, was supported in court by family members and his fiancé Lauren Griffin who was present when FBI agents raided their home in Weehawken last week.
Griffin, 37, remained silent and emotionless throughout Monday’s hearing, holding rosaries with a cross attached.
Matthew Nilo, 35, denied assaulting four different women during his appearance in Suffolk Superior Court this morning
Griffin remained silent and unemotional throughout the hearing, holding rosary beads with a cross attached
His bail was set at $500,000, and if Nilo can afford that amount, he must submit to GPS monitoring and stay away from his alleged victims and the scene of the crime.
Nilo was handcuffed and appeared in court in a blue shirt and jeans and looked emotional as he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At the time of the alleged rapes, Boston police warned that a man assaulted women after offering them a ride home.
Nilo was identified to law enforcement through relatives who voluntarily submitted DNA samples to a genealogy database, such as “23 and Me.”
According to a police statement, a dozen FBI agents and Boston police officers arrested Nilo at his luxury apartment complex.
They lured him to the lobby under the pretext that “a large package had been delivered to him that would not fit in the … lockers where the residents pick up packages.”
He was with his fiancé at the time of his arrest and immediately invoked his Miranda rights.
Griffin also attended Nilo’s New Jersey hearing last week, where he waived extradition.
Handcuffed, Nilo appeared in court in a blue shirt and jeans and looked emotional as he pleaded not guilty to the charges
He waived his extradition on Thursday after appearing in a New Jersey courtroom for the first time. Pictures on his social media show the accused rapist partying with friends
Nilo, who was linked to the crimes by DNA, was supported in court by family members and his fiancé Lauren Griffin who was present when FBI agents raided their home
His fiancé held the religious jewelry during the hearing, but said nothing as she left the court
Nilo is charged with assaulting the four women on or around Terminal Street in Charleston on August 18, 2007, November 22, 2007, August 5, 2008, and December 23, 2008.
Nilo has been suspended by his employer Cowbell in light of the investigation
A 23-year-old woman claims she was approached by a man in his 20s after leaving a friend’s home on State Street in the early hours.
She said she thought she knew the man, who offered her a lift to help her find her vehicle before driving her to Terminal Street.
Nilo then reportedly told her to “shut up” or he would kill her, claiming to have a gun before raping her on a lawn near railroad tracks, according to court documents.
The second attack occurred in November 2007, when a 23-year-old woman left a bar on State Street after attending a high school reunion.
According to documents, she got into Nilo’s car, thinking it was a taxi, before giving him the address of an ATM near her apartment.
She claims the man flashed a knife at her after she told him he missed the address and drove her to Terminal Street, where he ordered her out of the car before raping her.
Several photos posted on Nilo’s Facebook page at the time showed him living a life of partying and drinking with his friends
In one of his old photos, he was caught peeing in a hallway
The third attack occurred in August 2008, after Nilo allegedly approached a 36-year-old woman on Boston Common and promised her money if she went to Charlestown with him.
When they got out of the car at Terminal Street, he allegedly “tackled her to the ground, held a gun to her back,” and raped her repeatedly.
Prosecutors said all three women underwent a sexual assault investigation, which produced a DNA profile that matched the man in each assault.
The latest attack occurred in December 2008, when a 44-year-old woman was attacked while jogging near Terminal Street.
Court documents allege that he approached her from behind, tackled her to the ground, and sexually assaulted her.
The man, later reportedly identified as Nilo, told her “I’ve got a gun” repeatedly before she managed to escape by poking his eyes.