Man accused of raping unconscious woman in nightclub bathroom

By John R. Ellement and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff

A 21-year-old man has been charged with aggravated rape after prosecutors allege he raped an unconscious woman in a bathroom at the popular nightclub FELT Boston.

Nicholas Chiaraluce denied the allegation after his arraignment this morning in Boston Municipal Court, telling reporters that he tried to help the 21-year-old woman.

“I did everything I could to make sure she was OK,” Chiaraluce said. “I was trying to do the right thing, and I ended up getting charged.”

The Woburn resident was arrested by Boston police early Saturday morning at FELT, which is near Downtown Crossing.

According to the Suffolk district attorney’s office, at least one witness saw Chiaraluce rape the woman in the second floor men’s bathroom. Police spoke with a friend of Chiaraluce, who told investigators that he saw the victim with her pants around her knees in the second-floor men’s room, prosecutors said. Chiaraluce asked his friend to help dress the woman, but he refused, prosecutors said.

Through a public relations firm, Regan Communications, the club’s owners said they acted properly after learning that a woman was in the men’s room and that she “appeared extremely ill.’’ The statement said managers called 911 and then directed responding police to Chiaraluce, who was standing outside the nightclub. The club said it continues to cooperate with law enforcement.

Daniel Pokaski, chairman of the Boston Licensing Board, said the agency will review the nightclub’s actions, including whether the woman was overserved. He called the allegations that a woman was raped in a bathroom of a licensed premise in Boston unprecedented. "Has sex ever happened in a nightclub in Boston before? I'm sure it has,'' he said. "But rape of an unconscious woman, no, not that I am aware of.''

He said the club was the subject of a hearing on Tuesday due to an “overaggressive bouncer who beat the crap out of a kid’’ last December. He said the board will vote on Thursday what sanctions the company will face for that incident.

Chiaraluce told police that he did not know the victim but had bought her a drink, prosecutors said. Investigators saw what appeared to be either blood or vomit on his pants, which they seized along with a pair of women’s underwear found in the bathroom.

“The facts of this case are simply appalling,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement.

The victim, a Boston resident, was taken to a local hospital. Club employees have been cooperative with investigators, Conley said.

Defense attorney Joan Fund called the charge outrageous, saying that there was no evidence in the police report she saw to support a charge of aggravated rape. “There is no indicia that this was anything this gentlemen was trying to hide or was afraid of,” said Fund, who declined to elaborate.

After his arrest, Chiaraluce was released on $30,000 bail, which was posted by his father, Alfred Chiaraluce.

“He’s a good kid,” said Alfred Chiaraluce, who accompanied his son to court. “He did nothing wrong. He was Mr. Nice Guy, he wanted to help, and he’s being wrongly charged.”

Alfred Chiaraluce declined to go into detail, saying only that police arrested the wrong person and that his son “went for help.” He questioned the woman’s actions, saying, "he didn't carry her in there.''

Chiaraluce is scheduled to return to court March 5 for a probable cause hearing.

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