East Cambridge Woman Raped, Robbed in Home

In the second such incident in recent weeks, a home invasion and rape were committed in East Cambridge Saturday, according to a Cambridge police report.

According to the report, a man broke into a woman's first-floor apartment in the vicinity of First, Fifth, Binney and Cambridge streets by unknown means. Once inside, he raped the victim and took her pocketbook, among other personal items.

The perpetrator is described as being a roughly six-foot tall black male, with a large build, who was seen wearing dark clothing.

The incident is similar to another rape two weeks ago in the vicinity of Mather House in which an assailant entered a woman's home through an open window and raped her before taking jewelry and other possessions from her home.

The descriptions of the attackers in the two incidents are not similar--the first assailant was said to be black, 25 to 35 years of age, of medium build and 5'5" tall.

Police and community members have recently expressed concern about the rising rate of violent crime--and particularly sexual assault--in Cambridge.

According to the Cambridge Police Department, incidents of rape in the city are up dramatically since the beginning of the year.

According to Lt. Frank T. Pasquerello, a spokesperson for the police, further details about this weekend's assault cannot yet be released. Detectives are currently working on the case, he said, by talking to residents in the neighborhood in which the alleged attack occurred.

The police are also following a new policy of contacting residents of the neighborhood in which a sexual assault occurs and distributing flyers requesting information about the crime, Pasquarello said.

Since the sexual assault two weeks ago near Mather, Harvard police officers and many house masters have advised students to be cautious and implored them to keep their doors and windows locked.

Several residents of the East Cambridge neighborhood who were interviewed last night said they hadn't heard of the crime and were surprised that such an incident had happened.

"I feel very safe here," said one resident who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"I've lived here since the late 1970s and it's been a very family-oriented Portuguese and Italian neighborhood. People seem to watch out for each other."

Others were particularly worried due to the nature of the crime.

"I'm shocked to hear about it," said another resident who also asked not to be identified.

"You might imagine that someone would pull you off the street, but to think someone would break in your home and do this while you're in your bed asleep is unfathomable."