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Mass. man sentenced to 15 years in 2013 cold case rape
“This case is an example of how good investigative work coupled with emerging technology can not only identify suspects but bring these cases to a resolution.”
A 30-year-old man has been sentenced to 15 years in state prison for raping a woman in Acton in 2013, in a case that went unsolved for years.
Christopher Aldrich of Lunenberg was arrested in 2023 following a breakthrough in the cold case investigation and later pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
“After over a decade, Christopher Aldrich has finally been held accountable for this assault after having evaded justice for so long,” Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement. “This case is an example of how good investigative work coupled with emerging technology can not only identify suspects but bring these cases to a resolution.”
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Prosecutors said Aldrich raped a 22-year-old woman at knifepoint on the evening of June 18, 2013 at the South Acton Commuter Rail Station, then fled on foot. Authorities searched the area but could not find him immediately after the assault and there were no surveillance cameras in the area.
The DA’s office said the case went unsolved until November 2022, when Aldrich was in a single-car crash in Acton. Officers investigating the crash seized several items from the vehicle, including an open bottle of Fireball whisky. A swab of the mouth of the bottle matched the DNA profile of the suspect in the 2013 sexual assault. A subsequent, court-ordered swab from Aldrich also matched the DNA profile in the cold case.
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Aldrich was arrested in February 2023 on the charge of aggravated rape and pleaded guilty earlier this month.
“I hope that knowing the perpetrator will be held accountable for this heinous crime provides some measure of relief to the survivor,” Acton Police Chief James Cogan said in a statement.
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