BOSTON, April 5, 2018—An agent assigned to the Boston office of the Internal Revenue Service was arraigned on charges of aggravated rape and other offenses stemming from alleged assaults on an intern last summer, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JAMES CLARKE, 44, is charged in Suffolk Superior Court with aggravated rape, indecent assault and battery, strangulation, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for an incident on the evening of July 26, 2017, when Clarke allegedly invited a student intern at the Boston IRS office for drinks after work and then offered to drive her to South Station to catch a train.

Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum, chief of the DA’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, recommended that Clarke’s bail be set at $10,000. Assistant Clerk Magistrate Edward Curley did not impose monetary bail but granted Polumbaum’s request for orders that Clarke have no contact with the victim or any witness and not leave Massachusetts without the court’s permission.

Polumbaum told the court that Clarke spent several hours with the victim at a downtown bar. Later, when the victim was intoxicated, he offered to drive her to South Station to catch a train home.

While parked in his IRS-issued vehicle in the Government Center garage, Polumbaum said, Clarke handcuffed the woman – initially under the guise of showing her what it was like given her interest in law enforcement work. Polumbaum told the court that Clarke groped the woman, placed his service weapon in her throat, and subjected her to sexual contact against her will. Polumbaum said an additional assaultive act occurred in the car outside South Station after Clarke had driven the victim there.

The victim exited Clarke’s vehicle and called a friend to disclose the assault, Polumbaum said. She then called 911, prompting a medical response and a criminal investigation by the Boston Police Sexual Assault Unit and Suffolk DA’s office. That investigation culminated in Clarke’s March 7 indictment by the Suffolk County Grand Jury.

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 at www.janedoe.org/find_help/search.

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.
Clarke is represented by attorney Michael Doolin. He returns to court on May 9.

–30–

All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.