Report: Man who allegedly raped his young stepdaughter, released on low bail, now murdered her and killed himself

A Massachusetts man who was free on low bail after allegedly repeatedly raping his young stepdaughter has now apparently killed her and himself, police said.

On September 7, 2021, a young girl called police to report that her stepfather, Juliano Santana, had raped her “multiple times,” according to a press release from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, possibly over several years. The most recent assault had reportedly occurred just a month earlier.

“Why was he outside?” an outraged resident wanted to know. “Why was he outside?”

The victim told investigators that Santana warned her “not to be afraid and not to tell her mother.” Investigators also examined a diary in which the victim allegedly documented the attacks and showed it to her sister.

The same day the girl made the accusation, police arrested Santana and prosecutors charged him with six counts of aggravated rape of a child. Despite the police’s quick response and the heinous allegations against Santana, the district court in Malden, Massachusetts, about five miles north of Boston, granted him bail of only $30,000, which Santana quickly paid.

As conditions of his release, the court ordered that Santana wear an ankle monitor and have no contact with his stepdaughter, and was prohibited from having unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.

The girl’s mother, Olena Wilson, immediately filed a restraining order against Santana on behalf of her daughter and herself. “I also fear for my safety because I have realized that I do not know this man and, given this situation, do not know what he is capable of,” Wilson wrote at the time.

Santana’s trial date was originally scheduled for about a year later, but the case was repeatedly postponed. The date was finally rescheduled for July 29, 2024. Unfortunately, neither the defendant nor the victim lived to see that date.

Last Thursday around 4 p.m., police in Acton, Massachusetts, received an alarming report that 49-year-old Santana had kidnapped his stepdaughter as she walked home from school. Thanks to the ankle bracelet, his parole officer was soon able to locate Santana in the parking lot outside his apartment.

When police arrived at the scene, they quickly found Santana’s vehicle. Inside, they found Santana and the girl dead from apparent gunshot wounds to the head. The girl was just 16 years old at the time of her death, meaning she was 12 or 13 years old the last time Santana raped her.

“Why was he outside?” an outraged resident wanted to know. “Why was he outside?”

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, members of the Massachusetts Criminal Investigation Division and the Acton Police Department are continuing to investigate, the prosecutor’s press release said.

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