Now Faces Sentencing Rather Than Trial Next Month
BOSTON, June 8, 2018—The serial rapist accused of a string of sexual assaults that began more than a decade ago pleaded guilty yesterday as his case approached trial and faces sentencing next month, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
ALEJANDRO DONE, 49, pleaded guilty to indictments charging two counts of aggravated rape, one count of rape, one count of assault with intent to rape, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of armed robbery. Those charges reflect attacks on three women in 2006, 2007, and 2010 that prosecutors were prepared to prove he committed; the victim in a fourth assault returned to her native country shortly after the assault was not expected to be available for trial. Done changed his plea at what had been scheduled for a status hearing in advance of his July 16 trial date.
Done, who is serving a prison term following convictions in Middlesex County, faces sentencing on July 18. Prosecutors will recommend a lengthy state prison sentence on the Suffolk County convictions.
“Our team of prosecutors and police detectives labored for more than a decade to reach this point,” Conley said. “The defendant’s admission of guilt is the direct result of countless hours spent in pursuit of a predator, first to identify him and then to build an ironclad case against him. The victims in this case, and all survivors of sexual assault, can take some satisfaction knowing that he’s finally been held accountable.”
Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorneys Amy Martin and David Deakin would have introduced evidence and testimony proving that Done was the unknown assailant who attacked women in Boston during late-night sexual assaults during the summer months of 2006, 2007, and 2010. The assaults were investigated by the Suffolk County State Police Detective Unit, Boston Police Sexual Assault Unit, and the chief of the DA’s Family Protection and Sexual Assault Bureau.
Despite repeated efforts to identify the assailant through police sketches, computer-assisted composite images, appeals for witnesses, and plainclothes surveillance, he remained at large until 2015. That year, a DNA profile from one of the assaults matched Done’s DNA profile, which had been uploaded to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, in the course of a Middlesex County investigation.
Sexual assault can happen to anyone. While the victims of any crime are asked to call 911 in an emergency, survivors of sexual violence can also call their local rape crisis center for free and confidential services and to discuss their options. Support is available for all survivors of sexual violence, regardless of whether they wish to take part in a criminal prosecution. Services by city and town can be found through Jane Doe Inc. at www.janedoe.org/find_help/search. Jane Doe Inc. is a coalition of 60 local member programs working together to find lasting solutions that promote the safety, liberty, and dignity for victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence.
In Suffolk County, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center offers a free and confidential 24-hour hotline at 800-841-8371. The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center provides medical accompaniment and many other free services to victims of rape and sexual assault. Suffolk victim-witness advocates can assist in referrals to BARCC and a wide array of non-profit service providers who can offer additional support and services.
Anne Kelley-McCarthy was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Done is represented by attorney Timothy Bradl. He faces sentencing before Judge Janet Sanders on July 18 at 3:00 pm.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
