A Massachusetts man who broke into a Boston home and sexually assaulted a woman was found guilty Friday.
Washington Pearson, a 56-year-old Lynn man, was arrested in Virginia on Nov. 29, 2022. He was wanted in an incident that took place Oct. 24 of …
Massachusetts
College applications, missed days among concerns for Newton students as teacher strike lingers
The teacher strike has ended, but concerns about future fallout for students remain after 11 days without school in Newton, Massachusetts.
“The most chaotic thing as a senior is that my transcripts aren’t being sent to colleges right no…
Boston-area brothel bust hearings to be public, Mass. high court justice rules
Initial hearings for 28 people accused of paying for sex at high-end brothels operating in the Boston area will be open to the public, a justice on Massachusetts’ highest court wrote Friday.
But documents in the case will be sealed before the hearings to protect private information for anyone for whom probably cause is not established at the hearings, Supreme Judicial Court Justice Frank Gaziano ruled.
The ruling allows the show cause hearings, a concept unique to Massachusetts’ criminal justice system that allows people accused of misdemeanors who haven’t been arrested to have closed-door hearings with clerk magistrates, be opened to the public. They are typically held behind closed doors, but The Boston Globe, WBUR and NBC10 Boston had appealed to make these hearings open.
More than half of the 28 people set for show cause hearings, accused brothel clients whose names have not been released, had appealed to keep the hearings private, saying they were not public figures and were entitled to privacy before misdemeanor charges of sex for a fee were filed.
“Opening the show cause hearings to the public, as she found, promotes transparency, accountability, and public confidence in the judiciary by demonstrating that each individual accused of these crimes, no matter their station in life, is treated equally,” Gaziano wrote.
But he agreed with a finding from the clerk magistrate of Cambridge District Court that keeps the applications for complaint in the cases sealed, writing, “the disclosure of extraneous personal information could create ‘collateral consequences for the individuals involved, and gratuitously expose non-public information that would otherwise remain private for those persons for whom no probable cause is established.’”
The date of the show cause hearings has not yet been set.
Also Friday, a federal grand jury brought indictments against the three people previously arrested on suspicion of running the brothels, which prosecutors say operated in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, and Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia, near Washington, D.C.
The brothels were frequented by politicians, professors, military officers and pharmaceutical executives, acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy of Massachusetts.
But lawyers for 13 of the accused clients argued that they were not public figures like political office holders or in key government positions.
NBC10 Boston joined with the Globe and WBUR in seeking to make the hearings public, as the clerk magistrate had initially moved to do, arguing that there was public interest in learning more about the case, which had already generated headlines.
5 Mass. State Police troopers, 3 department mechanics obtained fraudulent licenses amid bribery scheme
Five Massachusetts State Police troopers and three civilian mechanics who work for the department obtained fraudulent commercial driver’s licenses as part of a bribery scheme that was made public earlier this week, the agency said Friday followi…
Police create task force to reexamine disappearance of 16-year-old Stow girl in 1985
Police in Stow, Massachusetts announced Friday that they have formed a task force to reexamine the disappearance of a local teen nearly four decades ago.
Catherine “Cathy” Malcolmson was 16 years old when she disappeared in 1985 while riding her bike to work in nearby Hudson. Stow police said the case has been looked at multiple times since her disappearance, but this is the department’s first task force solely dedicated to finding out what happened to her.
Cathy’s bicycle was found in Hudson about two years after she went missing. But since then, there have been no substantial leads or new developments in the case. The task force was announced one day before National Missing Persons Day, which is Saturday, Feb. 3.
“Cathy’s disappearance has always remained on the minds of our department members and this town” Stow Police Chief Michael Sallese said in a release. “I am glad that we were given the opportunity to bring more attention to this case. There have been both technological and investigative advancements since her disappearance and we are looking forward to utilizing those tools. Our hope is that given the time that has passed, people who may not have come forward then will come forward with information now and we can finally get some answers as to what may have happened to Cathy.”
The task force will be led by Sgt. Cassandra Scott, Stow police said.
Stow police said they received funding for the task force through the Edward J. Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program. This will help pay for overtime for the officers involved as well as a podcast focusing on Cathy’s disappearance and the subsequent investigations.
Anyone with information about Cathy’s disappearance can call the tip line at 978-897-4545, ext. 1985 or email the task force at tipsforcathy@stow-ma.gov.
Ms. G didn’t go out for Groundhog’s Day 2024, but still has a spring forecast
Punxsutawney Phil’s not the only groundhog making predictions about spring. The incomparable Ms. G has been Massachusetts’ official prognosticator since 2008.
But Groundhog’s Day 2024 looked different from years past at Ms. G’s home at Drumlin Farms in Lincoln Friday morning. The ceremony was held inside because of recent health changes for the animal.
Mass Audubon, which runs Drumlin Farms, noted on its event page that “an outdoor prognostication will be replaced with an indoor meet and greet with Ms. G at the Farm Life Center.”
Gov. Maura Healey even shared a status update on Ms. G, noting on social media that the weather-attuned groundhog is “taking a break from the spotlight today.”
We went to Drumlin Farms on Friday to check in on Ms. G, who was happily munching on broccoli when we found her inside.
“Ms. G is a juvenile, so she has a temporary hormonal condition that caused a little bit of hair loss, so out of respect for her, and holding us to our high standards with wildlife care, we didn’t feel comfortable having to go outside doors. this year,” said Scott Mccue, the Metro West regional director for Mass Audubon.
Punxsutawney Phil and Ms. G aren’t always in agreement, but they were for 2024: expect an early spring.
More Groundhog Day news
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