BOSTON, May 16, 2018— A Swampscott man was arraigned today on charges he sexually assaulted two women at gunpoint last year, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JOSEPH LOSANO, 51, of Swampscott was arraigned today in Roxbury Municipal Court on four counts of aggravated rape in connection with the two separate attacks. Bail was set in the amount of $50,000 and Losano was ordered to wear a GPS monitor, stay out of the city of Boston, and stay away from the victims in the event he is released on bail.

Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum, chief of the DA’s Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Unit, told the court that two women recently came forward to Boston Police to report sexual assaults that occurred on different dates in 2017. In each case, a man matching Losano’s description and driving a white pickup truck consistent with the one used by Losano picked the victim up in the area of Massachusetts Avenue while she was engaged in prostitution. The victims were driven to unknown locations believed to be outside of the city of Boston and forced at gunpoint onto a mattress in the bed of the truck, where each was subjected to sexual acts against her will, Polumbaum told the court. The victims in each assault were driven back to Boston, where one was sexually assaulted.

Suffolk prosecutors charged all of the offenses under Chapter 265, Section 24A, of the Massachusetts General Laws, which allows for a consolidated prosecution of rape and certain other offenses if the victim “has been conveyed from one county or judicial district into another.”
Each victim positively identified Losano as her assailant in a photo array, prosecutors said, and the investigation continues into these incidents as well as similar assaults against additional victims.

“No one should ever feel reluctant or afraid to disclose a sexual assault,” Conley said. “No matter who you are, no matter what you do for work, no matter where you’re from or where you live, you can count on our support, respect, and advocacy.”

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.

Anne Kelley-McCarthy is the DA’s assigned victim witness advocate. Losado was represented by Arnold Abelow. He returns to court June 19.

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