Nicolas Chacon, the local man who threw the Tufts community into two weeks of fright and insecurity in April 2007, will serve at least 15 years in prison after pleading guilty on May 28 to charges of rape, assault and kidnapping.
Chacon, a Somerville resident, committed a series of sexual offenses near campus between April 12 and 26 of last year, according to Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone's office. Chacon, 20, victimized five women, including a Tufts student, a spokesperson for Leone's office confirmed.
"Nicolas Chacon preyed on unsuspecting women in the neighborhoods of Somerville and Medford, putting those entire communities in fear," Leone said in a statement. "The victims bravely came forward to explain what happened to them and, because of their courage, this dangerous predator has been taken off the streets for a significant period of time. I want to thank the Somerville, Medford and Tufts police departments for their excellent investigative work in this case."
Chacon's five assaults varied in nature. In certain cases, he simply groped women from behind and fled, whereas on one occasion, he abducted a woman who was walking up Winthrop Street in Medford, near campus. Threatening her with a knife, Chacon forced the victim into a driveway and raped her. He then took her into a car, where he sexually assaulted her again as he drove.
Chacon faced two counts of aggravated rape, one count of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and four counts of indecent assault and battery. He pled guilty to all these charges.
Two of his victims testified at the May 28 sentencing hearing, where Woburn Superior Court Judge Raymond Brassard sentenced Chacon to an aggregate sentence of 15 to 20 years in state prison and 40 years of probation.
As reports of the sexual assaults trickled in over those two weeks in April 2007, fear spread across the Tufts community, and many female students started to avoid traveling alone at night.
"It's been terrifying that the assaults happened so close by," Jessica Ceruzzi, then a junior living on Boston Avenue, told the Daily that April.
Rising junior Helen Corless said in an interview yesterday that before Chacon's spree, she had an unrealistic sense of campus safety.
"It definitely opened my eyes and broke that false sense of security," she said. "Once those incidents started occurring, I started using Tufts' escort service at night whenever it was dark, whether it was just going from Brown and Brew to South Hall, I didn't feel comfortable."
Tufts University Police Department Captain Mark Keith praised Chacon's sentencing. "I think the Tufts campus and the entire neighborhood is probably relieved that he's not going to be around in this area for quite some time," Keith said.
