2008 Woodie Awards
Beacon Hill rape worries Emerson students
Amanda Pinto
Issue date: 11/18/04 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The rape of a Beacon Hill woman and the arrest of her 16 year-old assailant yesterday has shocked many in the Boston community who considered Beacon Hill to be among the city's safer neighborhoods.
Several area news stations and publications reported that the woman was forced into her Joy Street apartment at gunpoint at approximately 10:15 p.m. Sunday evening.
It was also reported that she was tied up, assaulted and robbed, and that her roommate arrived home during the attack and was also tied up and robbed.
According to a Boston Police Department press release, a 16-year-old Boston youth was arrested Wednesday and will be charged with aggravated rape, home invasion, armed assault, kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The teenager, whose name will not be released because he is a juvenile, will be tried in the Boston Juvenile Court.
His bail on a previous breaking-and-entering case has been revoked, and he is currently being held on $100,000 cash bail.
Despite the suspect's arrest, many Emerson students who live on Beacon Hill feel uneasy about their safety.
Junior Jackie Lerner, a vocal performance major who studies at Emerson through the Longy School extension program, said she feels nervous when walking home to her Phillips Street apartment at night.
"I pay really high rent to live in Beacon Hill, and part of that is because it was a safe neighborhood," Lerner said. "This just shows you that anything can happen anywhere."
This is not the first rape to startle the Emerson community this year.
Two rapes in Mission Hill in late September and early October heightened campus awareness about sexual predators and reminded students to take precautions to prevent assault.
The Center for Health and Wellness offers many clinics on sexual assault, safety tips and self-defense, and the Counseling Center offers assistance to anyone who has been assaulted or is affected by the assaults.
Most Emerson students interviewed said they would continue to go about their daily lives a little more cautiously than before.
Junior theatre education major and Beacon Hill resident Kirstin Daniel said that, although the suspect has been apprehended, she still feels a little unsafe.
"It's made me nervous about anyone being behind me when I'm walking," Daniel said. "But [crimes] happen, it's a terrible thing, but I'm not going to let it terrorize and change my life. I have to walk to school down Joy Street...I think the buddy system is going to be a good idea."
Several area news stations and publications reported that the woman was forced into her Joy Street apartment at gunpoint at approximately 10:15 p.m. Sunday evening.
It was also reported that she was tied up, assaulted and robbed, and that her roommate arrived home during the attack and was also tied up and robbed.
According to a Boston Police Department press release, a 16-year-old Boston youth was arrested Wednesday and will be charged with aggravated rape, home invasion, armed assault, kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The teenager, whose name will not be released because he is a juvenile, will be tried in the Boston Juvenile Court.
His bail on a previous breaking-and-entering case has been revoked, and he is currently being held on $100,000 cash bail.
Despite the suspect's arrest, many Emerson students who live on Beacon Hill feel uneasy about their safety.
Junior Jackie Lerner, a vocal performance major who studies at Emerson through the Longy School extension program, said she feels nervous when walking home to her Phillips Street apartment at night.
"I pay really high rent to live in Beacon Hill, and part of that is because it was a safe neighborhood," Lerner said. "This just shows you that anything can happen anywhere."
This is not the first rape to startle the Emerson community this year.
Two rapes in Mission Hill in late September and early October heightened campus awareness about sexual predators and reminded students to take precautions to prevent assault.
The Center for Health and Wellness offers many clinics on sexual assault, safety tips and self-defense, and the Counseling Center offers assistance to anyone who has been assaulted or is affected by the assaults.
Most Emerson students interviewed said they would continue to go about their daily lives a little more cautiously than before.
Junior theatre education major and Beacon Hill resident Kirstin Daniel said that, although the suspect has been apprehended, she still feels a little unsafe.
"It's made me nervous about anyone being behind me when I'm walking," Daniel said. "But [crimes] happen, it's a terrible thing, but I'm not going to let it terrorize and change my life. I have to walk to school down Joy Street...I think the buddy system is going to be a good idea."