Sex offender charged with sexually assaulting 2 Boston women

BOSTON – A convicted sex offender released from prison five months ago was arraigned Wednesday on charges he sexually assaulted two women in their home.

Ronald Brown, 52, faces charges including aggravated rape as a repeat offender, kidnapping and burglary. He appeared in court with the top half of his body covered with a black coat. An automatic not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf.

He was ordered held without bail until a Friday hearing, when a judge will decide if he is too dangerous to be released.

Brown’s lawyer didn’t immediately comment.

Police say Brown, who listed his permanent residence as a homeless shelter, entered the women’s South End apartment at around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday. One of the women told police that she woke up when she heard her roommate arguing with someone, the Boston Herald reported.

Brown bound and assaulted both women, police said. Police said he told one of the women: “I hate Chinese people” and “If you scream, I’ll kill you,” according to court documents obtained by the newspaper. He raped her and then made her take a shower afterward, police said.

The nationality of the victims wasn’t immediately clear, nor was Brown’s.

He took the women’s cellphones, electronics and other belongings and threatened to kill the women if they called police, authorities said.

Police say the two women remained in the apartment until 7:30 a.m., when one woman went to work and eventually sought medical help and the other woman went to Connecticut, police said, according to the Herald.

Police say they later found Brown at a homeless shelter carrying the women’s personal items. They also found a medicine bottle with his name at the crime scene, police said.

The Boston Globe reports that Brown has a lengthy record of violent offences, sexual assaults and other criminal charges, including a 1985 aggravated rape conviction bearing strong similarities to Tuesday’s assault.

Brown was mostly recently released from prison in May and has been cited in recent months for failing to register as a sex offender.

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This story has been corrected to show Brown was released from prison five months ago, not six months ago.