Former Massachusetts police officer convicted of raping women while on duty

BOSTON – A Suffolk jury has convicted 50-year-old former MBTA police officer Shawn McCarthy, formerly of Wilmington, of three counts of rape stemming from a 2012 incident in which McCarthy drove two women in his cruiser, while on duty, to an area near the Museum of Science and raped both, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

McCarthy, who now lives in Maine, was sentenced to four to six years in prison with two years of probation, according to NBC10 Boston. He will also have to register as a sex offender.

Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum said that on July 6, 2012, the victims, then in their early 20s, were drinking in Boston when they encountered McCarthy outside the Aquarium subway station.  Against the advice of a fellow officer, McCarthy offered the women a joyride in his marked police cruiser and drove them around the area with blue lights flashing.  After stopping in a vacant lot so the women could relieve themselves, McCarthy said he hadn’t risked his job for nothing, and he would not take them back downtown until he got something out of it.  The women stated that they feared getting in trouble and had no choice but to submit. McCarthy reportedly penetrated one victim with his fingers and his penis as she stood against the parked cruiser; and inserted his fingers into the second victim as she sat in the backseat of the vehicle.  He then drove them back to the area where they had met and warned them not to tell anyone about the episode.

One of the victims disclosed the assault soon afterward to a male relative.  In August 2019 she had to divulge it again while answering required questions as a candidate for a law-enforcement job in another community.  Up to that point both victims had believed the perpetrator worked for the Boston Police Department.  The matter was initially referred to BPD and further investigation identified the assailant as a Transit Police officer. A grand jury investigation with the MBTA police followed.  McCarthy admitted that he had two women in the cruiser on the night in question but denied any wrongdoing.  He was placed on administrative leave in December 2019 and resigned soon afterward.

Hayden thanked the jurors and the investigators who put the case together.

“This officer abused his position, violated his department protocols, and worst of all by far, subjected two young women to sexual assaults that went unacted upon for many years.  But thanks to the victims ultimately coming forward, and the diligent work of investigators, justice in this case was sought and, with today’s verdict, delivered,” Hayden said.