Revere man charged with rape, held without bail

  Luis Salinas-Ibanez, 33, of Revere, is being held without bail after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman inside an MBTA train station. According to Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, Salinas-Ibanez has been charged with rape and was arraigned in the Central Division of Boston Municipal Court on November 15.

  During the arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Daniel Nucci said live video surveillance from November 12 showed the woman, whose identity has not been released, lying down on the floor of State Street Station to sleep at approximately 10:30 p.m. Allegedly, minutes later Salinas-Ibanez began to sexually assault the woman, and this happened “multiple times” over the course of the next two hours. The live video feed caught the attention of an MBTA employee, who immediately called the Transit Police.

  According to Transit Police, the woman told officers that she was “woken multiple times to a male pulling down her pants and touching her without consent.” The woman was taken for treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital.

  The day after the incident, a photo of Salinas-Ibanez was released to the public. Within two hours, Transit Police were able to make a positive identification. Police found Salinas-Ibanez at his workplace at 12:19 p.m. on November 13 and took him into custody.

  Salinas-Ibanez will be back in court on November 22 for a dangerousness hearing.

  “I’m so grateful to everyone who acted swiftly to protect this sleeping victim of sexual assault and to hold the assailant accountable. The MBTA employee who witnessed the assault immediately called for help, allowing for a swift response from responding officers,” said Rollins. “Further investigation and the caring and dedicated services of law enforcement professionals, including people working in my office, notified the community of an unknown rapist and the community responded immediately. Brave members of the public shared what they knew with police and this individual was placed under arrest and removed from the community. The victim in this case was sleeping when she was sexually assaulted. Women should be free to walk the streets, use public transportation, sleep, take an Uber, go to dinner, have a drink, celebrate their birthday, go to work, play a sport, get an education and simply live and exist without fear of sexual discrimination, objectification, harassment, assault or rape.”