Bailiff charged in 3 rapes
Accused of sexually assaulting female prisoners
By Richard Weir | Saturday, December 17, 2011 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
Michael Rubino, a Boston Municipal Court court officer accused of sexual misconduct involving two female prisoners, at his arraignment at Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on Friday.
Photo by Brooks Canaday
A Boston bailiff turned the Edward W. Brooke Courthouse into his personal sex den where he forced shackled inmates to perform sex acts on him, prosecutors said.
Michael Rubino, 35, of Braintree was released on $2,000 bail yesterday after being arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court on charges he raped two female prisoners a total of three times — twice in a courtroom and once in an elevator.
Rubino, who pleaded not guilty, worked as a court officer for five years at the Brooke courthouse, commonly known as Boston Municipal Court.
“He’s a court officer with an unblemished record. That’s all I can tell you,” said his defense attorney, Steven Sack, noting he hadn’t had a chance to review the case.
According to court documents, Rubino between March and May took a female prisoner, bound in handcuffs and leg irons, from her holding cell to an empty, sixth-floor courtroom where he fondled her and on one occasion forced her to perform oral sex.
Investigators using “ultraviolet illumination” found stains in the courtroom’s carpet that were tested for DNA and matched Rubino’s and the prisoner’s. When questioned by cops, he denied the sex allegations, saying he took her to the courtroom to “smoke cigarettes with her,” according to court documents.
Another prisoner told police that while Rubino escorted her, cuffed and shackled at her ankles, to a courtroom for a hearing, he asked her to perform oral sex on him in an elevator, according to court documents.
“The two agreed that she would do so in return for cigarettes and cash,” the documents state, noting Rubino later brought her “several cigarettes wrapped in toilet tissue” but never gave her the cash.
Superior Court Chief Justice Barbara J. Rouse transferred Rubino’s case to Woburn because of his “familial ties to Suffolk Superior,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley. Neither Wark nor state judicial spokeswoman Joan Kenney would provide the name and title of Rubino’s Suffolk Superior Court-employed relative.
Kenney said Rubino, who had been on administrative leave with pay since Sept. 12, has now been suspended without pay pending the outcome of the case. Rubino earned $52,317 a year, she said.
Rubino is charged with two counts of rape, two counts of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older, one count of misleading a police officer and one count of engaging in sexual conduct for a fee.
Assistant Suffolk District Attorney David A. Deakin said that while Rubino cooperated with police by submitting to an interview and DNA sample, he also tried to dupe detectives.
Dan Ryan, 68, a retired Suffolk court officer, said his friend, Rubino, was helpful to prisoners.
“I wish he were my son. I’ve never met a kid like this. … He’s the best, a beautiful, beautiful guy. He helped everybody,” Ryan said outside court. “Complete aberration. It just shocks me.”
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1389084
