South End stunned by rape of woman, 67

In the quiet northwest corner of the South End, lunch crowds stream past boutiques selling designer kitchen utensils to dine on portabella mushroom-and-pesto sandwiches.

Many residents know their neighbors' names and routines. It is not a place where bad things happen often.

"We get break-ins in automobiles, sometimes burglary, but nothing of this nature," said Jose Barrintos, who runs a convenience store on the first floor of a 19th-century brownstone building on Clarendon Street. "This is probably the worst that happened here in many years."

In the shops and on the neatly kept streets, residents grappled with the rape Tuesday of a 67-year-old woman who was assaulted by a man who forced his way into her Clarendon Street apartment. According to police, the woman opened the door to a man saying he was a maintenance worker, who then entered and assaulted the woman. The suspect was still at large yesterday, police said.

The grid of townhouses and brownstones that runs south of Back Bay Station has transformed over the last three decades from a dilapidated slum into one of Boston's safer and most sought-after neighborhoods, where condominiums sell for more than $1 million.

Few residents have illusions that the neighborhood is immune to the crime that often accompanies urban living. But in this part of the South End, "in recent history, there have been no incidents of this nature," said Elaine Driscoll, a Boston police spokeswoman. The assault was a harsh reminder that boutiques and expensive real estate do not keep violence out.

"You can't get complacent," said Cathy Nairne, who has lived in a single-family house in the neighborhood for 16 years. "It's a city."

Members of the Ellis South End Neighborhood Association discussed the need "to be diligent and aware" during their planned meeting Tuesday night, said Kyle Hancock, president of the association. "Whenever you're in a city in any neighborhood, it's the prudent thing to do."

Despite news of the assault, several young women who live and work in the neighborhood said they felt at ease walking the streets alone.

"I've always felt safe around here," said Mariah Schroen, 23, who rents one of the condominiums in the neighborhood.

"It's very calm, very artsy," said Kristine Gustin, 27, a waitress who often works until 2 in the morning at Clerys, a self-described "neighborhood bar" on the corner of Columbus and Dartmouth Street. "When I walk to my car at night, I'm not afraid or anything."

The sudden violence was so extraordinary for the normally peaceful neighborhood that some people expressed disbelief at the assault.

"It's a freak accident!" exclaimed Barbara Rosenfeld, a real estate agent who works on Clarendon Street. To prove her point, she nodded in the direction of the Boston Ballet. "You have ballerinas walking down the street here all day long!"

Through the glass picture windows of her first-floor office at A.E. Rondeau Real Estate, Rosenfeld and her colleague, Brian D. Tierney, observed the paced life of the neighborhood, as they have for years.

A man walked two yellow Labrador retrievers past elegant cast-iron railings encasing small gardens of flowers and potted herbs; a woman pushed twins in a stroller; a man in a business suit hurried down the street.

Rarely, the real estate agents said, does a stranger pass by.

"At 2:30, I can tell you who's going to walk by this door," Tierney said.

"Shocking," Rosenfeld shook her head. "I couldn't believe it."

At his convenience store across the street, Barrintos agreed.

"Crime happens everywhere," he said. "It's frightening when it trickles down your street."