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Woman Raped By Airport Shuttle Driver--Boston

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Maggie8097

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May 12, 1999, 3:00:00 AM5/12/99
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Scary story from the Boston Globe:

Woman aboard shuttle raped
Van driver took her to forest, police say
By Tom Farragher, Globe Staff and Paul Kandarian Globe Correspondent, 05/11/99

BUS DRIVER ACCUSED OF RAPE

A woman who boarded an airport shuttle van at Logan yesterday morning was
driven to Myles Standish state forest, robbed, and repeatedly raped by the van
driver, police said.
Police launched a massive manhunt to find the driver, whom they identified as
Martin Joseph Foley, 30, of South Boston, an employee of US Shuttle Inc. of
Boston.
Foley, who has worked for the company for about six weeks, picked up the woman
at Logan about 1 a.m. with four other passengers, three females and one male,
said Plymouth County District Attorney Michael Sullivan.
Foley dropped off the other passengers around Boston and then headed south
alone with the woman, Sullivan said.
The woman was not familiar with the area, and grew suspicious when the driver
turned on to a dirt road in the forest, Sullivan said.
The woman was raped repeatedly over a period of four or five hours, Sullivan
said. The driver then ordered her out of the van, told her not to look back,
and drove away, he said.
''Hundreds of times a day people jump into a van and hundreds of times a day
they get to their destination safely,'' Sullivan said. ''This is a tragic
circumstance.''
The assault raised alarms about the safety of the airport van shuttles, which
carry 1 million passengers to and from Logan each year.
Foley had a prior arrest for a scissors attack in Boston, but US Shuttle was
legally prohibited from checking his criminal record.
Jeremy Crockford, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, said
criminal history checks are conducted for taxi drivers and some bus drivers.
Massport officials yesterday were discussing extending those checks to drivers
for private shuttle companies.
''It's horrible, and we intend to find out if there are any safeguards,''
Crockford said.
Sullivan did not say where the woman, who is in her early 40s, was headed when
she boarded the van. She was in town on business, he said, and the ride was a
prearranged pickup.
Around 7 a.m. yesterday, a birdwatcher noticed the van in the state forest and
called police. But when State Trooper Nancy Collins arrived, she found only
clothing and suitcases strewn about the area.
At around 8:30 a.m., Sullivan said, the rape victim spotted the trooper and
told her she was raped. The woman was treated at an area hospital and released.

Sullivan said US Shuttle officials worked with police to identify the driver of
the van, which was found abandoned about a mile from where it was seen by the
birdwatcher.
More than 100 state and local police officers, some with canine units, swarmed
the park. One dog picked up a scent that led to a pay phone at park
headquarters. As of last night, police were trying to determine if any calls
were made from that phone.
Sullivan said police do not believe the suspect is in the park, and say he may
have fled by hitchhiking.
Foley's prior police record stems from an assault in Boston in January of this
year, Sullivan said. The assault case involved an attack with a pair of
scissors, and Sullivan said Foley is due back in Boston Municipal Court Friday.

The arrest warrant issued yesterday seeks Foley for kidnapping, multiple counts
of rape, and robbery. The victim's cash, credit cards, and ATM card were
stolen, Sullivan said.
Foley is 5 feet 11, weighs 250 pounds, has green eyes, and is balding with
short reddish-brown hair, police said.
Sullivan said police are confident they will apprehend the suspect quickly.
''It's important we do it quickly, because clearly this is a dangerous
individual,'' Sullivan said.
This story ran on page B01 of the Boston Globe on 05/11/99.


Maggie

"You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a
merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around--and why his parents
will always wave back."--William D. Tammeus

kkramer

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May 12, 1999, 3:00:00 AM5/12/99
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Traveler as crime victim... They are unarmed. I guess you had better watch
the SHUTTLE DRIVER, FELLOW PASSENGERS and THE PARKING LOT.

Kramer


Maggie8097 wrote in message
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