NJ Lawyer Was Questioned in 2008 About Boston Sex Assault and Released – Weeks Later, He Allegedly Attacked Again

Accused serial-rapist lawyer Matthew Nilo was quizzed by Boston police about a sexual assault in July 2008, just days after he allegedly attacked a woman a few blocks away from where officers stopped him for driving with a faulty headlight.

It's not clear what came of the police questioning. He was not held in connection to the attack.

Instead, the 4 a.m. traffic stop on July 12, 2008 resulted in Nilo being arrested for possession of marijuana, and released after posting a $40 bail fee, according to a police report and court documents obtained by the Messenger.

Three weeks later, Nilo allegedly raped another woman at gunpoint, according to charging documents. He allegedly forced himself on another woman in December 2008.

It took another 15 years for investigators to name Nilo as the main suspect in at least 9 rapes and sexual assaults in two popular neighborhoods of Boston.

Nilow is now engaged to be married, and was living in New Jersey where he was working in as a cyber law attorney at the time of his arrest by the FBI.

Authorities say DNA profile information uploaded to a public database tied him to the attacks. His attorney has questioned the legality of the DNA collection authorities used.

The Boston Police Department has declined to commented on whether Nilo was investigated as a suspect in 2008.

James Borghesani, a spokesman for the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, would say only that that Nilo "was questioned about a sexual assault" by authorities at that time.

Nilo, 35, was indicted in June on allegations he used threats and physical violence in the North End attacks on four women over the two-year period.

Earlier, in May, Nilo was charged with raping three women and sexually assaulting a fourth in nearby Charlestown during that same time frame.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

During a court hearing on the indictment Thursday, Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Lynn Feigenbaum said on July 4, 2008, around 3:30 a.m., a 23-year-old woman was allegedly attacked from behind and molested as she walked on Foster Street, between Commercial and Charter street, in the North End.

That attack and others reported around that time put the neighborhood on edge. Police responded by increasing patrols in the area, news reports from that summer show.

Around 4:05 a.m. on July 12, 2008, officers were "actively and aggressively patrolling" the area when they saw a green, 2008 Toyota Camry traveling toward Commercial Street on Charter Street—which intersects with Foster Street—a police report said.

An officer could "smell a strong odor of marijuana emanating inside the vehicle" and police found a bag containing what they believed to be the drug they smelled on the passenger seat, authorities wrote.

As the minor drug possession charge worked its way through the legal system, Nilo allegedly assaulted two other women in Charlestown.

Prosecutors have alleged Nilo raped a 36-year-old woman on Terminal Street on Aug. 5, 2008 and assaulted a 44-year-old woman who was able to fight him off on the same street on Dec. 23, 2008.

For the drug charge, Nilo agreed to pre-trial probation and the case was dismissed in February 2009, court files show.

Several of the victims of the North End assaults told police their attacker was a white male who was possibly hispanic, according to prosecutors.

The July 12, 2008 police report lists Nilo's race as "white hispanic."