Man charged in 2013 rape at Acton Commuter Rail station
ACTON – A Lunenburg man has been arrested and charged with a sexual assault at the Acton Commuter Rail station, nearly a decade after the alleged crime.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Christopher Aldrich, 28, is charged with aggravated rape after pulling a knife on a 22-year-old woman, then attacking her while she waited for the train in June 2013.
Investigators say he forced her to throw away her cellphone before getting away.
Aldrich was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Concord District Court.
"As the only woman serving as the District Attorney, I feel a very deep responsibility to stand with anyone who's been a victim of sexual assault," Ryan said. "It may take time, but we are not abandoning these cases."
After the attack, detectives collected the suspect's DNA profile from the victim's rape kit. But the case went cold.
Finally, detectives had a break in 2021 when they partnered with genetic genealogy lab Parabon NanoLabs to develop a potential suspect profile out of a pool of people.
Then last November, prosecutors say Aldrich was in a car crash and his DNA from the crash matched the DNA from the rape kit.
Victim's advocates with the Center for Hope and Healing say this case underscores the importance of rape kits and following through.
"We got to emergency rooms with rape survivors in the middle of the night and inevitably they ask one question? 'If I do this kit, will someone care?'" said Isa Woldeguiorguis, Executive Director for Center for Hope and Healing. "'Will someone ever look at this kit? Will someone test the evidence? Will someone try and find this person?' After today, we are fortunate to be able to say yes."
Prosecutors said Aldrich's arrest is thanks to the work of a cold case unit launched in 2019.
For other survivors still waiting for justice, prosecutors had a message.
"We want you to know that we are still working on those cases and to those who have committed offenses, know that we have not given up," Ryan said.
Aldrich was held without bail after a dangerousness hearing and is expected in court again on March 22.
