Repeat offender arrested in Boston, prosecutor says – NBC Boston

A convicted rapist attacked a man with a machete under Boston’s Longfellow Bridge last month and was arrested days later, prosecutors said Thursday.

The man who was attacked was found on Storrow Drive on Thursday evening, May 23, covered in blood from multiple cuts to his head, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office. Investigators identified the attacker as Charles Selph, whom the District Attorney’s Office described as a repeat offender. Selph was arrested four days later in Boston.

Motorists stopped to help the bloodied man, and one person provided cellphone video that helped track down Selph, officials said. The injured man gave a description of the person who woke him up during the attack.

“This assistance, along with surveillance video and excellent investigative work, led to a quick arrest in this brutal attack,” District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement.

The attack was reported around 10:15 p.m. State police previously confirmed to NBC10 Boston that they were on the scene of an attack on Storrow Drive near Teddy Ebersol’s Red Sox Fields, but could not provide further details.

The injured 54-year-old man told investigators he was sleeping under the bridge and ran to Storrow Drive after the attack began, where motorists came to his aid. He described his attacker and was taken to nearby Massachusetts General Hospital.

The driver’s cellphone video shows the alleged attacker holding a long object in his hand, which was also seen in the MBTA surveillance footage immediately before the attack, prosecutors said.

A police officer recognized Selph from the footage. According to prosecutors, a backpack found at the crime scene contained a medical bracelet and a bottle of pills. Both had his name on them. Nearby was a machete that matched what was seen in the footage.

Prosecutors did not disclose why they believed Selph attacked the man.

Selph, who prosecutors said had previously been convicted of rape, sexual assault, assault on a police officer, failure to register as a sex offender and other crimes, was most recently sentenced to nine months in prison for assault in May last year.

A day after his arrest, on May 28, he was arraigned for his alleged machete attack and remanded in custody on $1,000 bail. The judge also ordered him to stay away from the alleged victim and the scene of the attack, prosecutors said.

It was not immediately clear if Selph has posted bail or if he has an attorney who can respond to the charges. He is due back in court on June 21.