Lawyer accused in Boston area rapes released from jail

(NewsNation) — Warning: This report talks about sexual assault. Anyone in need of services can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673 or visit the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network at www.rainn.org for additional resources.

The New Jersey lawyer who faces charged linked to a series of sexual assaults in the Boston area has been released from jail, the Boston Globe reports.

At a court hearing Monday, Matthew Nilo’s attorney told the judge Nilo was prepared to post the $500,000 bail set last week.

Nilo, 35, of Weehawken, New Jersey, entered a not guilty plea to three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape and one count of indecent assault and battery.

The charges are connected to four alleged attacks in Boston’s Charlestown area from August 2007 through December 2008.

The conditions of Nilo’s release require him to wear a tracking device, keep away from the area where the assaults were reported, surrender his passport and have no contact with any witnesses or victims.

One of Nilo’s accusers, Lori Pinkham, told the Globe she had not planned on speaking publicly about the attack until she learned Nilo would be posting bail. She agreed to be identified for an interview with “Good Morning America” and appeared on camera.

“It’s been horrible. A big part of my life stopped that day,” Pinkham told “Good Morning America” in an interview broadcast Wednesday. “I couldn’t work. I didn’t want to spend time with anybody. Every day, I’ve lived in fear.”

Pinkham said she was 23 at the time of the attack in 2007. She said as she was walking to her car, Nilo pulled up in a car and asked if she needed a ride. She replied she was OK, then says she saw a gun in his hand.

“He just said, ‘Get in the car.’ And I just got really scared, and I got in the car.”

Pinkham said he drove to Charlestown and stopped the car. She said she tried to run from him, but he caught up to her and raped her.

Pinkham plans to face Nilo in court and said she would testify against him if prosecutors asked her to do so.

Using forensic genetic genealogy, investigators linked Nilo to the assaults by retrieving DNA from a drinking glass he had used at a corporate event, prosecutors said.

Joseph Cataldo, Nilo’s attorney, has called the way law enforcement gathered his client’s DNA “somewhat suspect” and questioned the legality of the DNA being taken without a warrant.

Nilo is expected to be back in court on July 13.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.