Serial Rape Suspect Arrested, DA Looking For Additional Victims

WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA — A 20-year-old man from West Springfield who police say was wanted in the rape and assault of at least six women over the course of several months has been arrested, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said Wednesday.

Ali Ghaffar, 20, was identified as the suspect in the incidents through victim accounts and DNA evidence, Gulluni said. He is facing a number of charges including rape, aggravated rape, kidnapping, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to rape, armed kidnapping with sexual assault, and other charges.

According to police, the most recent attack happened on March 24, when State troopers say they found a woman walking alone on the Massachusetts Turnpike in West Springfield. She told police she was raped and threatened at gunpoint by an unknown man.

The woman said she was looking for a ride near Marble Street in Springfield when she said a man driving a car in his early 20s offered to give her a ride, which she accepted. She told police he had long hair and a tan complexion.

The woman said he took her to the area of Bearhole Reservoir in West Springfield, where he told her she had a gun and proceeded to sexually assault her.

Officials in the West Springfield Police Department say they have been investigating several similarly reported sexual assaults within the last eight months. In each reported incident, each survivor claims she was picked up in Springfield and brought to a remote area in West Springfield where the sexual assaults happened.

As the investigation continued, authorities say they were able to identify the car in the March 24 incident as Ghaffar's. As they were looking into it, they found his car on March 31 in Springfield as a woman was getting into it.

"The suspect's car traveled to the Bearhole Reservoir in West Springfield, where it came to a stop. At this time officers approached the car and took Ghaffar into custody," authorities said in a news release. "In so doing, the team had stopped another rape before it could happen."

Gulluni said Ghaffar was arrested on March 31, adding that investigators believe there are additional victims and Gulluni is encouraging them to contact authorities.

"The suspect in this case was preying upon vulnerable women. While his conduct was becoming more frequent and bold, state police investigators in my office and our local partners marshaled resources over mere hours and conducted an outstanding investigation knowing that women remained at risk," Gulluni said. "This rapid and formidable deployment occurred to protect the public from further harm."

Ghaffar will be held pending a dangerousness hearing that is scheduled for April 21.