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Officials warn of Esplanade attacker

E-mail|Link August 19, 2010 04:18 PM

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff

As the start of the school year nears, law enforcement officials are warning residents to be mindful of their surroundings at night on the Charles River Esplanade in light of a series of unsolved sexual assaults in that area.

Police sketch

A 2008 composite of the suspect

A joint statement by Boston police and State Police and Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley warns joggers, cyclists, pedestrians and others to travel in groups if they visit the Esplanade at night. Specifically, they warn people to avoid one-on-one contact with strangers, to not get into a stranger's car, and to be mindful of what’s around them.

The warning comes while police continue to search for the suspect in a series of attacks on the Esplanade that date back to 2006.

“Each later summer brings to Boston and Cambridge a new crop of students unaware of these attacks,” Conley said in a statement. “As we educate them on basic safety and how to approach the Esplanade at night, we’re also reminding long-term residents that this attacker remains at large and could still be active in the area.”

The unsolved attacks include:

-- A July 14, 2009, incident in which a young woman was physically attacked near the Massachusetts Avenue footbridge shortly after midnight;
-- A July 29, 2007, incident in which a 20-year-old woman was abducted at knife point on Beacon Street and forced to walk to the Esplanade, where she was raped and robbed at about 3:30 a.m.;
-- A June 16, 2007, incident in which a different 20-year-old woman was jogging at the Charles River Esplanade on a footpath near the Massachusetts Avenue bridge shortly after 11:00 p.m. when she was raped; and
-- A July 29, 2006, incident in which a 30-year-old woman was in the area of Joe Moakley Park when she was raped at about 3:00 a.m.

The victims collectively described their assailants as being a clean-shaven African-American male in his mid-20s to mid-30s, standing 5 foot 8 to 5 foot 10. At the time of the attacks, he had a medium to large build and a bald head.

Anyone with knowledge of the crimes or the suspect, or who was present near the Esplanade, Dartmouth Street, or Moakley Park areas at the times noted above, is urged to contact the Massachusetts State Police Barracks in Boston at 617-727-6780, call the toll-free Boston Police CrimeStoppers tip line at 1-800-494-TIPS, or text the word “TIP” to CRIME (27463).