Man accused of raping woman in Back Bay T stop

By Globe Staff

A man appeared in court today to face aggravated rape and other charges after prosecutors allege he attacked a 25-year-old woman at gunpoint Friday, dragging her into a stairwell of the Back Bay MBTA station.

Richard Flowers, 48, is accused of flashing a gun when he approached the woman in the station at 8:30 p.m., according to a release from the Suffolk district attorney's office. Flowers allegedly demanded money and other items from the victim before forcing her into a stairwell leading to Columbus Avenue and Clarendon Street.

Prosecutors allege that he pushed her against the wall and on the floor and raped her, blocking the view of passersby with his body.

The woman fought back, prosecutor said, and Flowers allegedly punched her repeatedly in the head. Prosecutors said that at one point she noticed Flowers's handgun on the floor next to her and kicked it down the stairs. He allegedly got off her and ran after the gun.

The woman fled and was taken to New England Medical Center, where she was treated for the sexual assault and abrasions, contusions, and lacerations stemming from the beating.

"The facts of this case are horrifying and brutal,'' District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a prepared statement. ''The victim suffered a terrifying ordeal. Our thoughts and prayers are with her. I’d like to commend the Transit Police for their outstanding work to build a very strong case against this defendant.''

Flowers's attorney, Arnie L. Stewart, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Flowers had recently finished serving a 13-year state prison sentence for armed robbery, prosecutors said. He was ordered held without bail on a parole detainer during his arraignment in Boston Municipal Court. In addition, Judge Rosalind Miller ordered him held on $250,000 bail on charges of aggravated rape, armed robbery, and credit card fraud.

Transit Police responded to the hospital and the scene and took a detailed statement from the alleged victim. They also studied surveillance tape recorded by cameras in Back Bay station.

The next day investigators learned that someone attempted to use the woman's credit card to buy $2,075 worth of jewelry. The buyer tried to have the merchandise shipped to a Munroe Street address in Roxbury but was unsuccessful because of the discrepancy between the billing and shipping addresses, according to prosecutors.

Transit Police detectives went to the Roxbury address and said they found the man in the security camera videos sitting on the front porch. The man fled but was quickly arrested.

In his statement, Conley noted the assistance of Boston and State police in the investigation.
''That interagency partnership is the hallmark of a comprehensive investigation,'' he said.

Flowers is scheduled to return to court Oct. 9.

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