Evidence causes delay in trial for attorney tied to rapes by DNA

BOSTON (Court TV) — A New Jersey lawyer will return to court next month on charges he raped three women and tried to rape a fourth as prosecutors try to get the evidence they need before trial.

Matthew Nilo was present in court for a hearing on Aug. 8, 2024. (Court TV)

Matthew Nilo appeared in court for a hearing on Aug. 8 as he faces three charges of aggravated rape, two charges of kidnapping and a charge of assault with intent to rape. While the crimes were allegedly committed between Aug. 2007 and Dec. 2008, Nilo was not charged until 2023.

Prosecutors told a judge on Thursday that they are still waiting for reports from labs they will need to try their case, forcing additional delays. The judge ordered all sides to return to court on Sept. 5.

The Commonwealth’s Statement of Case, reviewed by Court TV, accuses Nilo of threatening each of the alleged victims with a weapon before raping, or attempting to rape them, on Terminal Street in Charlestown, a Boston neighborhood. The cases were cold until 2022 when officers used investigative genetic genealogy — using publicly accessible DNA databases — and identified Nilo as a suspect.

In 2023, Nilo was living in New Jersey and working as an attorney for a law firm in New York City. He was placed under surveillance and FBI agents were able to obtain his DNA profile from a drinking glass he used at a corporate event. That DNA was a positive match to the attacks. Nilo’s attorney has challenged the DNA collection without a warrant.

While the attacks were committed months apart from each other, prosecutors identified common themes among them:

August 18, 2007

A 23-year-old woman was returning to her car after an evening out with a friend downtown when the defendant approached her, prosecutors said in a filing reviewed by Court TV. The victim told police she got into Nilo’s car so he could help her look for her own vehicle, but instead, he took her to Terminal Street, where he threatened her with a weapon and raped her.

November 22, 2007

A woman, 23, left a bar in Boston after attending her high school reunion and got into a vehicle she believed to be a taxi or rideshare. Prosecutors say Nilo was behind the wheel, and after driving past the address the victim wanted to go, he flashed a knife at her and took her to Terminal Street and raped her. A rape kit linked DNA on the victim to the August attack.

August 5, 2008

Prosecutors say Nilo approached a woman, 36, who was panhandling near the Boston Common and offered her money if she got in his car and accompanied him to Charlestown. She did, and after Nilo brought her to Terminal Street he allegedly tackled the victim, held a gun to her back and raped her. DNA from the victim’s rape kit matched the two previous attacks.

December 23, 2008

A 44-year-old woman who had been jogging in the area of Terminal Street in Charlestown called police after returning home to say that “a man ran up behind her, put his arms around her upper body in a bearhug, and tackled her to the ground with his right arm around her neck.” Prosecutors say the man then stuck his hand down her pants and said, “I have a gun,” multiple times. The victim used her gloved hands to poke the eyes of the attacker and was able to get away. No usable DNA was immediately found to establish a forensic link to the other attacks. However, a glove was later sent to a private lab and a male profile was obtained. Prosecutors say the testing indicates the sample is 314 times more likely to belong to Nilo than anyone else.