3d woman accuses fire official of rape

(Robert E. Klein for The Boston Globe)

Boston Deputy Fire Chief Peter Pearson (left) stood behind his attorney, Kevin J. Reddington, during his arraignment today on more rape charges.

By Maddie Hanna, Globe Correspondent

BROCKTON -- A third woman has accused Boston Deputy Fire Chief Peter Pearson of rape. Prosecutors today said that Pearson repeatedly pretended to be a police officer to prey on prostitutes and "vulnerable people" whom he allegedly forced with a gun to have sex in his car.

Pearson was charged with the third attack on Sunday while he was already in custody for a similar alleged assault in spring 2003. The new allegation dates to February 2005 and came from a woman who contacted police after Pearson's arrest was reported in the media, prosecutor Sharon E. Donatelle said today at his arraignment in Brockton District Court.

Pearson stood behind a Plexiglas partition and said nothing as Donatelle described the charges against him. His attorney, Kevin J. Reddington, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf, and Pearson was held without bond pending a dangerousness hearing on Wednesday.

After the brief hearing, Reddington questioned the credibility of the alleged victims and argued that media coverage had spawned bogus accusations.

"These individuals have one common trait," Reddington said. "They're all prostitutes."

In response, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz said that Pearson has preyed on "vulnerable people" who "have rights, too."

The first allegation surfaced in July when a woman whom Brockton Police had detained as a "common night walker" told officers she had been sexually assaulted by a patrol officer two weeks earlier. In August, the woman identified Pearson as her attacker.

The most recent accuser was described as a woman who was 34 years old when she was attacked in February 2005. The woman was walking to a friend's house at dusk when a beat-up, four-door Buick began to follow her, Donatelle said.

Pearson was driving the car, Donatelle said, and he engaged the woman in conversation. She agreed to climb into the car and have sex with him, Donatelle said. After they were finished, Pearson allegedly drove the woman to a parking lot in Avon against her will.

The woman told Pearson she was a drug addict, Donatelle said, and he allegedly claimed to be the head of the State Police narcotics team in Brockton. The woman said he then forced her to have sex against her will, Donatelle said.

Pearson had been free on bond for charges of kidnapping and rape and was arrested again at his home in East Bridgewater last weekend after the second woman came forward. She alleges that Pearson attacked her in spring 2003. The woman, then 36, was walking down Main Street in Brockton at midday when a blue, four-door car began to follow her, Donatelle said today in court. The driver, whom the woman recently identified as Pearson, told her he was a state trooper and ordered her to get in car, where she saw a badge and a large portable radio.

"He kept repeating that he was an undercover state trooper," Donatelle said.

The man drove for about 15 minutes, parked in lot at Brockton Hospital, showed the woman a gun, and assaulted her, Donatelle said.

Boston Fire Department officials have confirmed that Pearson is the deputy chief for Division 2, which covers areas west of Massachusetts Avenue. Officials said Pearson has been placed on administrative leave without pay pending the outcome of the allegations.

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