Woman is raped, robbed at home

A stranger forced his way Sunday night into a Beacon Hill apartment, where he tied up and robbed two women and raped one of them at gunpoint, police and neighbors said yesterday.

One of the women was entering her apartment building on Joy Street about 10:15 p.m., when a man pushed her inside and forced her up at least four flights of stairs to her apartment, police said.

The man bound and gagged the woman. As he was assaulting her, a female roommate came home. He then tied up the roommate and robbed the apartment.

The women, both in their mid-20s, later broke free and ran downstairs to a neighbor for help.

''They came and banged on the door," said the neighbor, who did not want to be identified because the suspect had not been arrested. ''I pulled them in and locked the door after them."

Police said such a crime is rare in Beacon Hill, where break-ins and burglaries are more common.

''This guy is a rapist," said Deputy Superintendent Margot Hill of the Police Department's Family Justice Division, which includes the Sexual Assault Unit. ''He may not have been taking items for a robbery; he may have been taking souvenirs from a rape."

Yesterday news of the rape and robbery quickly swept through the steep, narrow byways of one of the city's most exclusive neighborhoods.

Residents had become accustomed to television news trucks, which showed up early in the day, but this time they were not there to cover Senator John F. Kerry, who lives six blocks from the victims' apartment. Residents were not accustomed to the Boston Police crime scene investigation truck, which was parked near the intersection of Myrtle and Joy streets in the midafternoon.

''Wow, that's close," said Isabelle Slotine, a mother of two who lives a few hundred feet from the victims' apartment. ''There have been break-ins on this street, but rapes?"

Before yesterday, Slotine said she allowed her daughters, ages 6 and 9, to walk unsupervised to dance classes and a nearby playground. But that will not happen anymore, she said.

Slotine said she was surprised that a woman had been accosted on the street, because Joy Street is heavily traveled. She said there is a lot of foot traffic, because Joy Street is the only road on the Hill that connects Boston Common directly with Cambridge Street.

According to Slotine and other residents, many apartments on Joy Street are occupied by students and young, single professionals. Many do not have cars, relying on the T to get around.

''It's usually a safe street," said Jessica Jensen, 21, an Emerson College student who lives in the neighborhood.

In the lobby of the victims' building, an unclaimed US News & World Report magazine lay on the carpet, where scuff marks led toward a steep staircase. The neighbor who helped the victims looked worn and shaken as she answered her door. She had not heard any screaming from the victims' apartment and had no idea what had happened until the women came to her door.

In the densely populated neighborhood, she said, people usually take care of one another. A couple of days ago, a resident left a note in her building warning of an attempted break-in through a fire escape a few doors down.

''If you leave your garbage out, you get a note, too," she said, with a smile.

The two victims had not returned to their apartment since the attack, the neighbor said.

''The girls are gone," she said. ''I don't think they're coming back."

The suspect, whom police described as a 6-foot, non-Hispanic black man, about 20 years old with a slim build, had not been apprehended as of late last night. Police are asking anyone with information to call the department's anonymous tip line at 800-494-TIPS.

Police also urged women to be careful when walking alone. They issued a similar warning after two abductions and rapes in Jamaica Plain in September. The suspects in those attacks are also at large.

Donovan Slack can be reached at dslack@globe.com.