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Martha’s Vineyard trooper suspended with pay as barracks assault probe continues
A Massachusetts State Police trooper has been suspended with pay while investigators examine an alleged rape at the Oak Bluffs barracks. The case centers on a Boston Public Schools security official who has pleaded not guilty.
A Massachusetts State Police trooper has been suspended with pay amid an investigation into an alleged rape at the department’s Oak Bluffs barracks on Martha’s Vineyard, according to people familiar with the matter.
Prosecutors say Trooper Ryan Costello was working on the island and let his college friend, Edward J. Brown, stay overnight at the barracks. Brown, 27, was arrested last week in connection with an alleged rape there in August.
Police said a passing motorist found a woman naked in the street outside the barracks and took her to a hospital. The woman told police that Brown raped her inside the barracks, according to the account of the investigation.
Brown, an assistant security director for Boston Public Schools, pleaded not guilty to one count of rape in Dukes County Court. His attorney told the judge Brown is presumed innocent. The defense also pointed to a police affidavit stating that the woman did not want to pursue charges.
The school district has placed Brown on administrative leave. He is scheduled to return to court in December. Investigators have seized cellphones, and the inquiry is ongoing, according to people familiar with it.