Man on probation for one rape gets at least 30 years in prison for second rape; faces trial for third

A Suffolk Superior Court jury on Friday convicted Eduardo Rodriguez, 32, on two counts of aggravated rape and on single counts of kidnapping, unarmed robbery and indecent assault and battery for an attack on a woman at Claremont Street and Greenwich Park in the South End on Aug. 22, 2016, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Maureen Hogan yesterday sentenced him to 30 to 35 years in state prison, followed by 10 years of probation. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of life.

According to the DA's office, Rodriguez faces trial later this year for a third rape, committed just hours after the South End attack. At the time of the rapes, Rodriguez was on probation for a 2007 rape, for which had received a sentence of 8 to 10 years. His new sentence will begin only after he finishes a 3-5-year sentence for violating the terms of his probation - by getting arrested for a new rape - the DA's office reports.

According to the DA's office:

During the course of last week’s jury trial, prosecutors presented evidence and testimony to prove that at approximately 12:30 a.m. on Aug. 22, 2016, Rodriguez was riding a BMX bicycle as he approached the victim walking in the area of Greenwich Park and Claremont Street. Rodriguez threatened the victim with a knife and forced her to walk with him to Carter Playground. There, he sexually assaulted and robbed the victim of her phone and approximately $250.

The victim was treated at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and underwent a sexual assault examination.

Boston Police detectives linked Rodriguez to the attack through the GPS monitoring device he was ordered to wear as a condition of his probation for his earlier conviction. Those GPS records placed him at Carter Playground at the time of the assault and showed his movements to and from the location – including a stop in an alley where police later found the clothing Rodriguez had worn at the time of the assault. Security cameras along his path also captured him riding a bicycle and then walking with the victim in the direction of the playground.

The victim positively identified Rodriguez in a photo array as the man who attacked her, and relatives of Rodriguez identified the bicycle he was observed riding as one he borrowed from a family member that day.