Repeat offender arrested in bloody machete attack on Storrow Drive, DA says

A convicted rapist attacked a man under Boston's Longfellow Bridge with a machete last month and was arrested days later, prosecutors said Thursday.

The man who'd been attacked was found covered in blood, from several cuts atop his head, on Storrow Drive the night of Thursday, May 23, according to the Suffolk District Attorney's Office. Investigators identified the attacker as Charles Selph, whom prosecutors characterized as a repeat violent offender, and Selph was arrested in Boston four days later.

Drivers stopped to help the blood-covered man, and one person provided cellphone video that helped track Selph down, according to officials. The wounded man shared a description of the person who'd woken him up in the attack.

"This assistance, along with surveillance video and excellent investigative work, led to a quick arrest in this brutal attack," District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.

The attack was reported about 10:15 p.m. State police previously confirmed to NBC10 Boston that they were at Storrow Drive near Teddy Ebersol's Red Sox Fields responding to an assault, but didn't have more details.

NBC10 Boston

The wounded man, 54, told investigators he'd been sleeping under the bridge and, after the attack began, ran onto Storrow Drive, where he got help from drivers. He described his assailant and was rushed to nearby Massachusetts General Hospital.

In the driver's cellphone video, the apparent attacker was holding a long object in his hand, which they also saw in MBTA surveillance footage from just before the attack, prosecutors said.

One trooper recognized Selph from the footage, and in a backpack found at the scene was a medical bracelet and a pill bottle, both of which had his name, according to prosecutors. Nearby was a machete that matched what was seen in the footage.

Prosecutors didn't say why they believed Selph attacked the man.

Selph, who was previously convicted of rape, sexual assault, assault and battery on a police officer, failing to register as a sex offender and more, according to prosecutors, was most recently sentenced to nine months in prison last May for an assault and battery.

He was arraigned for his alleged machete attack a day after his arrest, May 28, and was ordered held on $1,000 bail. The judge also ordered him to keep away from alleged victim and the area of the attack, prosecutors said.

It wasn't immediately clear if Selph posted bail or if he had an attorney who could speak to the charges. He's due back in court June 21.