Lawyer tied to rapes by DNA left on drinking glass is accused of 5 more attacks

BOSTON — A New Jersey lawyer recently charged with sexually assaulting four women in Boston 15 years ago — attacks he was linked to by DNA he left on a drinking glass — has been indicted on suspicion of five additional attacks during the same time period.

Matthew Nilo, 35, was indicted Tuesday on seven charges stemming from five attacks on four women in Boston's North End, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden. The attacks happened between January 2007 and July 2008 while the victims were walking alone in the dark, either at night or early in the morning, Hayden said. One woman was attacked twice, 11 days apart, he said in a news release.

“This case demonstrates that no attack will go uninvestigated, no suspect will go unpursued, and no amount of time will insulate a criminal from a crime,” he said.

Nilo's attorney, Joseph Cataldo, said Wednesday that his client denies the allegations and that he will file motions to challenge the DNA analysis. Prosecutors have said Nilo was tied to those attacks through DNA obtained from a drinking glass he used at a corporate function this year. Cataldo has questioned the legality of taking it without a warrant.

“I think citizens of this country would be shocked and offended if courts were to permit warrantless searches, seizures and analysis of their DNA without the government first securing a warrant," he said in an email. “The Fourth Amendment has meaning.”

Nilo, of Weehawken, New Jersey, was arrested in late May and pleaded not guilty this month to three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape, and one count of indecent assault and battery. Those charges stem from four attacks in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood from August 2007 through December 2008 — when, authorities say, Nilo lived in the city.

The new indictments charge him with one count of rape, one count of aggravated rape, three counts of assault with intent to rape and two counts of indecent assault and battery.

Nilo, who was released on bail this month, is due in court on the new charges July 13.