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Matthew Nilo, an NYC attorney, was arrested by the Boston police on Tuesday, May 30, at his home in Weehawken, New Jersey, in connection with a string of assaults that occurred in Boston in 2007 and 2008. He is reportedly facing multiple charges, including three counts of aggravated r*pe, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to r*pe, and one count of indecent assault and battery.
Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of s*xual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Matthew Nilo, 35, who once lived in the North End, Boston, is accused of s*xually assaulting and abducting multiple victims in the Terminal Street area 15 years ago.
Investigative Forensic genealogy helped tie Nilo to the crimes
FBI Boston's special agent in charge, Joseph Bonavolonta, said that Nilo has been tied to crimes against at least four victims, after investigators used investigative forensic genealogy to pin down the suspect years after the assaults happened.
Bonavolonta explained that investigative forensic genealogy is a fairly new advanced technology that combines DNA analysis with public and historic records on available genealogy research. The combination lends investigators DNA from a pool of family members to track down potential suspects in a case. As per Bonavolonta:
"To be crystal clear, any crime we attempt to solve through this process must be based upon a final comparison between the crime scene DNA and the DNA from the suspect and we only get what any other customer using a publicly accessible genealogical service would receive.”
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, cited by NBC News, explained that Nilo’s DNA has been tied to cases from August 18, 2007, November 22, 2007, August 5, 2008, and December 23, 2008.
Authorities did not elaborate on the personal details of the victims involved in the case or expand on the incidents where they were violated by the suspect. However, authorities said they suspected it’s likely there are more victims out there and asked people to contact law enforcement with information regarding the case. Joseph Bonavolonta said:
"If you believe you have been a victim of s*xual assault associated with this case or have any information that could be helpful to the investigation, we're asking you to contact either the Boston Police Department or the FBI."
Joseph Bonavolonta also commended the courage of the victims who came forward to help solve the old case and added:
"While we know today's arrest of Mr Nilo cannot erase the harm he allegedly inflicted upon his survivors, we believe we have removed a dangerous threat from our community.”
Matthew Nilo graduated from the Boston Latin School in 2006
Per his LinkedIn profile, Matthew Nilo is currently working as a cyber attorney in New York City for Cowbell. Nilo graduated from the Boston Latin School in 2006 before he obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2010.
Matthew Nilo then worked as a paralegal at The Law Offices of Iannella and Mummolo for two years before obtaining a law degree from the University of San Francisco in 2015. Nilo worked as an Associate at Clyde & Co ·in the San Francisco area, for five years. He then moved to New York in 2019 and began working at Cowbell earlier this year.
As per WCVB, in a statement, Cowbell said Nilo was hired in January 2023 after passing the company's background check. The company added that Matthew Nilo's employment at Cowbell has been suspended, pending further investigation.
