A repeat rapist now faces potential lifetime commitment at a secure facility under the state’s Sexually Dangerous Person laws, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Geraldine Hines today ordered JOHN J. KELLEHER, 59, to the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater for a period of one day to life after Assistant District Attorney Barbara Young proved that he is “likely to engage in further sexual offenses if not confined to a secure facility” and thus sexually dangerous under Massachusetts law. Hines’ decision came after a five-day jury-waived trial last month.

In proving beyond a reasonable doubt that Kelleher is sexually dangerous, Young introduced his history of sexual offenses, which include the rapes of two young women in Somerville in 1971 and the attempted rape of another young woman on Thompson Island in 1987. In the 1971 incident, Kelleher wielded a knife; in the 1987 incident, he stabbed the victim in the face with a fork. All of the victims were strangers to him and each of the attacks took place in the victim’s residence while they were asleep.

While imprisoned for those offenses, Kelleher incurred more than three dozen disciplinary reports for a variety of offenses that included possessing a screwdriver, possessing a weapon, and escape. He repeatedly refused to take part in sex offender treatment. He was most recently convicted in 2009 in Norfolk County of his third drunk driving charge; upon his release from jail, Conley said, he was held on an order of temporary commitment pending these proceedings.

Young also introduced the testimony of an expert witness who opined that Kelleher presented a high risk of recidivism based upon his history of substance abuse, his extensive and diverse history of violent crime, his selection of strangers as victims, and apparent inability to control his sexual impulses. The witness further opined that Kelleher presented with a personality disorder as defined by Ch. 123A, Sect. 1, of the Massachusetts General Laws and is likely to reoffend sexually if not confined to strict security.

Hines is expected to issue her written findings of fact later this month. Kelleher was represented by attorney James Cipoletta.