A woman who was one of the alleged victims of accused rapist Matthew Nilo was visibly angry outside a Boston courtroom on Monday after the accused was freed on $500,000 bail.
The woman, who is going by the name Lori, told the Daily Mail that it was “bulls***” for Nilo to be freed. She was seen shaking with anger.
“He literally hid from cops for 16 years. How is he not a flight risk?” she told the outlet.
Nilo has been charged with three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape, and one count of indecent assault and battery, the New York Post reported. His crimes allegedly took place in Boston between 2007 and 2008.
He is accused of raping Lori at gunpoint 16 years ago, leaving her with post-traumatic stress disorder and forcing her to go on disability, she told the Mail. Lori is one of four alleged victims, who were between the ages of 23 and 44 when the crimes occurred.
“The cops came to my house and said they had identified him and they said that he was identified by DNA — and I was just relieved,” she told the Mail. “I was in disbelief and awe because I didn’t think he was going to get caught. I’ve been waiting for years for him to get arrested.”
Nilo did not attend the bail hearing.
Nilo, 35, would have been about 19 or 20 when the rapes were committed. A DNA sample connected him to the attacks on four women between August 2007 and December 2008 that occurred in the Terminal Street area, according to the Boston Globe. He was arrested earlier this month at his home in Weehawken, New Jersey.
“While we know today’s arrest of Mr. Nilo cannot erase the harm he allegedly inflicted upon his survivors, we believe we have removed a dangerous threat from our community,” FBI Boston’s Special Agent in Charge Joseph Bonavolonta said, according to WABC.
“This is without a doubt a major break in this investigation that has haunted the survivors of these sexual assaults, the residents of Charlestown, and the Boston Police Department for years,” Bonavolonta also said, according to the Post. “We believe we have removed a dangerous threat from our community.”
Law enforcement say they were able to match Nilo’s DNA to family members who had sent DNA samples to a genealogy database, such as “23 and Me.”
“Investigators never stopped analyzing evidence, collecting information and running down leads in order to bring dangerous offenders to justice,” Suffolk County, Massachusetts District Attorney Kevin Hayden said, according to the outlet.
Nilo previously lived in Boston’s North End and was identified as a suspect last month using investigative genetic genealogy. In addition to the genealogy work, the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative was also used to identify Nilo. The SAKI is a federal grant program that helps states process sexual assault collection kits.
Nilo works for Manhattan cyber firm Cowbell Cyber, which told WABC that he was only hired in January of this year and has been suspended pending investigation.
“He’s a very evil person and he used weapons and force to violently kidnap and rape multiple women,” Lori said of Nilo. “I can’t get into the details of my case, but I was his first victim, and the charges that are brought against him for me are aggravated rape and kidnapping.”
* Article From: The Daily Wire
