Mistrial in Northbridge MA Rape and Kidnapping Case
Criminal Charges:
Man charged in the Worcester County Superior Court for:
- Rape – M.G.L. c. 265, § 22(b) (2 counts)
- Kidnapping – M.G.L. c. 265, § 26
- Assault and Battery – M.G.L. c. 265, § 13A(a) (2 counts)
City, State, County and Court:
Northbridge, Massachusetts, Worcester County
Worcester County Superior Court
Case Overview:
A young man met a young woman using a mobile dating application. After conversing via the app for nearly a week, they exchanged cellphone numbers and went on several dates. The couple had consensual sex on the fourth date. For their fifth encounter, the man invited the woman to his home where he lived with his parents and three adult sisters. The couple sat around a bonfire in the man’s backyard with his sisters and his sister’s fiancé, who also lived at the house. Some hours later, the couple retired back to the house and into the man’s bedroom. The woman alleged that once inside the man tossed her across the room, forcefully handcuffed her to the bed, and without her consent, used various sex toys to penetrate her anus and vagina. She further alleged that the man choked her during this encounter. Once released from the handcuffs, the woman left and called her mom in distress. Some days later, she confided in a coworker about the incident, reported it to police, and underwent an examination at a hospital. The man hired Massachusetts Sex Assault Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this very serious matter.
Case Result: Mistrial
While under investigation, Attorney Calcagni brought his client to the Northbridge Police Station for an interview, and even provided police with evidence to establish the couple’s consensual encounters, to include text messages and photos of handcuffs they exchanged. Once criminally charged, Attorney Calcagni immediately secured the man’s release on bail. The case then proceeded to trial where Attorney Calcagni offered evidence of the parties’ text messages (including her saying she wanted to have sex and get choked right before the home visit), photos of the handcuffs, and sexual history together, which included bondage and choking as forms of role play. Attorney Calcagni also cross-examined the woman aggressively on topics such as her failure to display physical or verbal resistance on the night in question, absence of physical or medical evidence to support her claims, her delayed report to authorities, the delayed medical exam, failure to report the alleged conduct to her parents, including during the distressed call to mom, her destruction of evidence, the overall improbability of the woman’s story, and potential motives to fabricate her allegations. Attorney Calcagni also highlighted his client’s voluntary and truthful cooperation with police, and called members of the man’s family as witnesses to establish that no one within the full house that night saw, heard, or suspected anything out of the ordinary. After approximately 15 hours of deliberations, spread across 3 days, a jury of 6 men and 6 women could not reach a unanimous verdict. As a result, the Court declared a mistrial.