A $250,000 bail order has been issued for the Boston Police officer who is accused of raping a teenage boy twice.
West Roxbury resident Paul Downey, 58, was charged with four counts of child rape aggravated by age difference, two counts of having intercourse with a kid for payment, and two counts of luring a child into commercial sex.
Judge Jonathan Tynes of the Dorchester Municipal Court ordered him to be detained until Tuesday morning for a proper bail hearing with an attorney because he was arraigned on Monday without any legal representation due to a lack of attorneys.
Downey looked down or into the far corner of the pier on Monday, trying to hide his face as much as possible. He performed the same action on Tuesday, but to further conceal his identity from onlookers and media cameras, he wore a facemask reminiscent of the COVID era.
According to city payroll records, Downey earned nearly $150,000 in base salary last year, plus an additional $112,000 in overtime. Prosecutor Brandon DeAvilla claimed that Downey’s substantial resources were a contributing factor in his plea for $250,000 in cash bail.
Victoria Campbell, the defense lawyer, retorted that the Downey family could only afford $40,000 in cash bail. According to her, Downey is a Marine Corps veteran with a 25-year-old child who stays with him. He also completed high school. DeAvilla claimed that nine conditions of release were necessary to protect the alleged victim, and she stated that she had no issues with them.
Judge Tynes granted the request of the prosecution.
According to the agency, Downey has been with BPD since 1991. He is accused of meeting a 14-year-old child online and twice paid him for sex. Since Massachusetts has an 18-year-old consent age, that is rape.
Grindr, an app similar to Tinder but just for gay hookups, is where Downey allegedly first connected with the child. They then continued to communicate on Snapchat, where he suggested they meet up for oral sex in exchange for $50.
According to DeAvilla, the boy allegedly replied, “That’s too low,” especially because he was a minor and it would be illegal.
What about $80? Once more, DeAvilla said that Downey replied.
Then, in his tinted-windowed Chrysler 300, Downey had two sexual encounters with the child. The prosecutor said that the sex involved anal penetration in addition to oral contact.
According to prosecutor DeAvilla, the investigation started with a forensic analysis of the youngster, during which investigators viewed screenshots of the purported Snapchat exchanges. After that, the child recalled the license plate number and described the car.
Snapchat was subpoenaed by the police to provide information on the user account that had contact with the youngster. According to DeAvilla, the business supplied IP address information that indicated Downey’s residence. Police discovered a car at that address that fit the youngster’s description, with the license plate just one digit different from what the boy remembered.
The toddler then achieved 90% accuracy in identifying Downey in a photo lineup, according to DeAvilla.
The story is still evolving.
