What to Know
- Victor Pena, 38, of Charlestown has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and 10 counts of aggravated rape.
- He's accused of kidnapping a woman who was reported missing in January after she left a downtown Boston bar.
- Boston police say they found the woman after establishing a timeline with the help of surveillance videos, tracing her digital trail.
Disturbing new details about the alleged kidnapping and rape of a 23-year-old woman were revealed at the suspect's arraignment on Wednesday.
Victor Pena, 38, pleaded not guilty in Suffolk County Superior Court and was ordered held without bail pending a detention hearing April 10. He was indicted by a grand jury last week on one count of kidnapping and 10 counts of aggravated rape in connection with the January incident.
Prosecutors said Wednesday the victim told investigators she woke up on Pena's mattress and he told her to be quiet or else he would kill her. He also told the woman he "rescued" her and that they were "going to start a family together."
"What she remembers next is waking up on a bare mattress in the suspect's apartment with a stranger next to her," said Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum.
Pena made the woman drink whiskey and vodka and read the Bible in Spanish while holding her in his Charlestown apartment for three days, prosecutors said. They said he made the victim pose for selfies with him and sexually assaulted her several times during the time she was held captive.
"He put sunglasses on as if they were at the beach together, told her to pose and kiss him and smile," said Polumbaum.
Pena's attorney, William Barabino, said his client suffers from mental health issues.
"Does he deny making her drink alcohol, sexually assaulting her, taking photos? I would say without a doubt yes," said Barabino.
Pena has been held without bail since his arrest on Jan. 22 in connection to the disappearance of a woman who was last seen leaving a bar three days earlier in Boston. She was found in Pena's apartment after authorities established a timeline with the help of surveillance videos and traced a digital trail she left behind.
Pena's family has defended his actions and said he "didn't do it."
"Only thing he said is, he said 'She was drunk, she asked me for help, I helped walk her, I went to my place, and I didn’t even touch this girl,'" Jose Pena told NBC10 Boston back in January. He also said he doesn't believe his brother is competent to stand trial.
Police said surveillance video helped them establish a timeline from the night the woman went missing, from the moment she left Hennessy’s Bar to when she got on the MBTA with Pena. The pair was then seen again on surveillance in Charlestown, leading police to the building and unit where the woman and Pena were.
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But Jose Pena has said he believes it was all a misunderstanding.
"My brother is slow," he said in January. "He's 38 but mentally he's 17, 18, so he's like a teenager."
Barabino also said his client has the mental capacity of a 12-year-old and they are working to get him evaluated.
