Reports connect Medford rapes to Somerville attacks

According to police, a woman was grabbed from behind April 26 around 5:45 a.m. while waiting for a bus on Boston Avenue. The woman, said to be between 30-40, told police she felt a hard object pressed against her side as her assailant groped her.

Police believe the man was scared off by an oncoming car and fled the area on foot. The victim, although shaken and distressed, was unharmed.

The attack comes on the heels of an April 20 report in which a woman was dragged into a driveway by a man at knifepoint and sexually assaulted while walking down Winthrop Street around 10:30 p.m.. The woman was then assaulted a second time when the man reportedly dragged her into his car.

She was later released by the suspect after being driven around the area, eventually leaving her a quarter of a mile from where the first attack took place.

Since last Friday’s incident, police in Somerville and at Tufts University have joined forces with Medford to find the suspect. Police have also released information that several women have come forward after being sexually assaulted in the Hillside within the past 30 days.

On April 26, the Tufts Daily, reported that two female students, along with another woman, described similar encounters with an unidentified man. According to the Daily, a Tufts student reported being sexually assaulted March 31 by a man who lured her to his car just after midnight on Curtis Street.

The report was followed by another incident April 10, in which another Tufts student, reported being “grabbed from behind” by a man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt while walking along Winthrop Street near the corner of Capen Street.

In a memo from Tufts police to the campus community, dated April 24, obtained by the Transcript, officials confirmed the reports. Police further stated that a woman, who was not a Tufts student, was grabbed from behind and groped on April 21 while walking down North Street in Somerville.

The memo told students they could phone a campus escort service if they felt unsafe walking at night.

Although not all of the reported incidents have escalated to rape, police say they believe they could be looking for the same man due to some similarities in the way the attacks are being carried out.

Police say that man is described as a male in his 20s, possibly Hispanic, approximately 5’5” – 5’10” tall with a heavyset build. He may have some facial hair, and he may be wearing a dark colored hooded sweatshirt or a hooded jacket. 

The suspect may be operating a small reddish colored SUV type of a motor vehicle.