Allston man pleads not guilty in rape cases

An Allston man was arraigned yesterday morning on charges that he kidnapped and sexually assaulted two women inside his apartment last July, while playing a song titled "Rape Me," according to court records.

Standing motionless behind a partition in Suffolk Superior Court, 38-year-old Paul L. Carmichael entered seven pleas of not guilty to charges ranging from two counts of aggravated rape and kidnapping to assault and battery.

Assistant District Attorney Jane Johnedis-Woodbury said Carmichael has 32 entries on his criminal record, dating back to 1992, including a rape case that year that bears "a lot of similarity" to the two current rape allegations. But defense lawyer Eduardo Masferrer said all but one of the 32 cases, a 1998 conviction for assault and battery, were dismissed or acquitted after a trial. After leafing through Carmichael's record, Magistrate Gary D. Wilson ordered Carmichael held on $750,000 cash bail.

According to prosecutors, on July 5, Carmichael approached a 28-year-old Brighton woman who was out for her morning walk near Commonwealth and Harvard avenues and asked her if she wanted to go to his apartment.

The woman replied "No," prosecutors said, alleging that Carmichael followed her and persisted, eventually grabbing her by the wrists and shoulder and leading her to his second-floor apartment at 198 Allston St.

Prosecutors said in court documents that once inside the apartment, the woman asked for and received a cigarette from Carmichael, and that Carmichael asked her to get undressed and she complied. Carmichael then opened his futon, according to the documents, put on a Nirvana compact disc and played the song "Rape Me" at high volume.

The victim tried to escape, but Carmichael grabbed her, threw her to the futon and started choking her. The woman "surrendered to Carmichael in hopes she would not be killed," according to the documents.

Carmichael allegedly sexually assaulted the woman for about an hour before releasing her, according to court documents. The victim went home and then took a bus to Dartmouth, where her boyfriend lives. She told her boyfriend what happened, and they returned to Allston to report the matter to police.

Carmichael was an acquaintance of the second victim, a 25-year-old Cambridge woman, according to prosecutors. They had met last year. The woman gave Carmichael her phone number, and they occasionally crossed paths and chatted about getting together or going out for a drink.

On July 21, Carmichael saw her near the Central Square MBTA station and called out to her, prosecutors said. He asked her if she wanted to go to a local bar, and she agreed, but when they got to the bar, he decided he did not want to pay a cover charge.

The two got into a taxi and ended up at Carmichael's apartment, prosecutors said. At 11:17 p.m., the woman received a call and decided to leave to go out with friends, but Carmichael cornered her and told her she wasn't going anywhere, according to court records.

Carmichael pulled the woman down by the hair and started to strangle her when she fought back, prosecutors said. Carmichael sexually assaulted the woman, playing the "same music" reported by the Brighton woman. The victim screamed, "Apartment 10. Help me," but Carmichael continued to assault the woman, prosecutors said.

The victim was eventually able to gather her clothes and leave, despite Carmichael's attempts to keep her inside the apartment, according to prosecutors. The woman took a cab to the Brighton Police Station and identified Carmichael out of a photo array as her assailant.

Carmichael was arrested July 22 Johnedis-Woodbury said outside the courtroom that prior to July 21, the Brighton woman had picked Carmichael out of a photo array and that police had gone to his apartment but "he wasn't at home."

Carmichael is due back in court on Dec. 10 for a pretrial conference.