An attorney accused of kidnapping and multiple rapes in Massachusetts has been arrested, according to the FBI.
Matthew J. Nilo, 35, was arrested in Weehawken, New Jersey, on Tuesday in relation to a number of sexual assaults that occurred in Boston, MA, between 2007 and 2008.
According to CBS Boston, Nilo is originally from the Boston area and lived in the North End neighborhood of the city. The assaults he is alleged to have committed happened in the Terminal Street area of Charlestown.
FBI
An FBI Boston Twitter post shared on May 30 said: “FBI Boston SAC (special agent in charge) Joe Bonavolonta joined @bostonpolice commr. Michael Cox and Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden in announcing today’s arrest of Matthew J. Nilo, an accused serial rapist living in Weehawken, NJ. The FBI’s use of investigative genetic genealogy helped ID him.”
In a statement obtained by CBS Boston, Bonavolonta said: “To be crystal clear, any crime we attempt to solve through this process must be based upon a final comparison between the crime scene DNA and the DNA from the suspect and we only get what any other customer using publicly accessible genealogical service would receive.”
Nilo has been charged with 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.
His LinkedIn profile listed Nilo as an attorney specialising in cyber crime and that he graduated from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 2015.
Following his graduation, Nilo has been employed at various legal firms based in California and New York.
Massachusetts government statistics revealed there were 180 recorded sexual assaults in Boston in 2022, down from 233 the previous year.
Last year’s figures represent a five-year low for reported sexual assault in the city, with the highest in that period being 278 in 2018.
The government statistics also showed that an overwhelming number of victims of sexual assault in Boston were women—more than 91 percent of victims of reported sexual assault were female.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sexual violence is a common occurrence in the U.S.
It said: “Over half of women and almost one in three men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact during their lifetimes. One in four women and about one in 26 men have experienced completed or attempted rape.”
The CDC added: “Recent estimates put the lifetime cost of rape at $122,461 per survivor, including medical costs, lost productivity, criminal justice activities, and other costs.”
Newsweek has contacted the Boston Police Department for comment via email.