BOSTON, July 14, 2015—Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, State Police Colonel Richard D. McKeon, and Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans today announced the identification of a suspect in a series of previously-unsolved sexual assaults on the Esplanade and in South Boston.
Authorities today obtained warrants charging ALEJANDRO DONE (D.O.B. 9/13/68) of the South End with rape in connection with a series of sexual assaults on the Esplanade and in South Boston between 2006 and 2010. Done is currently held without bail pending trial in Middlesex County for a sexual assault in Cambridge and will likely be arraigned on the Suffolk charges later this week.
“Late yesterday, based on evidence gathered in the course of the Middlesex County investigation, State Police criminalists advised us of a DNA match connecting four of the South Boston and Esplanade attacks with Done’s open case out of Cambridge,” Conley said.
The identification of a suspect marked a major break in the investigation into a series of sexual assaults linked by DNA evidence and what Conley called an “unmistakable pattern” – assaults that targeted lone women walking late at night during the summer months, primarily on weekends, in the vicinity of Old Colony Avenue or along the Esplanade. The victims described a man whose height, weight, and appearance were consistent over a period of years.
“Despite a dragnet of investigators pursuing every possible lead in and out of Massachusetts, the assailant evaded detection – until now,” Conley said.
The linked attacks were:
- Early morning of July 29, 2006, in Joe Moakley Park
- Late night of June 16, 2007, along the Esplanade
- Early morning of July 29, 2007, along the Esplanade
- About midnight on July 13 into July 14, 2009, along the Esplanade
- Early morning of June 13, 2010, near Preble Circle
The case was investigated by a task force of investigators that included Suffolk County sexual assault prosecutors, the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit, and the Boston Police Sexual Assault Unit.
“Thanks to their work, this unknown assailant finally has a name,” Conley said. “He has a face. And he’s behind bars.”
Sexual assault can happen to anyone. While the victims of any crime are asked to call 911 in an emergency, the survivors of sexual violence in Suffolk County can also call the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center’s 24-hour hotline at 800-841-8371. The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center provides medical advocacy, legal services, counseling, and other services to victims of rape and sexual assault.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
