Victor Pena, Accused Boston Kidnapper Held Without Bail

BOSTON, MA — The man who is accused of abducting a Jamaica Plain woman outside a Boston bar earlier this year and then taking her to his Charlestown home and raping her, pleaded not guilty in Suffolk Superior Court last month and was back in court on Wednesday for a dangerousness hearing. On Thursday, Victor Pena, 38, broke into sobs during a court recess as the judge considered whether to leave the possibility open for him to be released on bail.

Judge Heidi Brieger said she found “clear and convincing evidence that no conditions of release will reasonably assure the safety of any other person or the community,” meaning Pena will be held without bail for up to 120 days pending trial.

Pena, 38, pleaded not guilty to a charge of kidnapping and 10 counts of aggravated rape at an arraignment last month. As the prosecutor for the Commonwealth argued, he sat staring at the table in front of him, wrists in orange handcuffs. He yawned when assistant district attorney described the injuries the woman who he is alleged to have kidnapped sustained.

"It is an unacceptable risk to release Mr. Pena at this time," said Assistant DA Ian Polumbaum.

He's due back in court on May 10.

"At this point what it is about is getting ready for trial," said William Barabino, Pena's attorney who noted that could take a year. "At trial, the issue will be did she reasonably communicate her lack of consent to Mr. Pena."

Authorities said he held the 23-year-old woman against her will and raped her several times at his Walford Way home in January, giving her only canned pineapple to eat throughout the three days.

During his arraignment last month, the prosecutor told the Court Magistrate that the 23-year-old Jamaica Plain woman had been drinking heavily before she left the bar in January, and that another man who saw Pena approach her outside told him to leave her alone.

"She has no memory of what came next," said Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum told the judge in March. Polumbaum said Pena hugged and kissed the woman before walking her to the Orange Line. A witness has said Pena propped the woman up and that her eyelids were fluttering.

The woman woke up on a bare mattress in a dirty apartment, next to a man she did not know, Polumbaum said. He added it was clear that Pena had had sex with her while she had been incapacitated.

When she gathered her belongings to leave the apartment, he refused to let her go and threatened to kill her, Polumbaum said. Pena told the woman he had rescued her and was happy the two could now start a family together.

Pena reportedly fed the woman only canned pineapple and vodka and Jack Daniels, even though she said the wheat in whiskey would make her sick. Polumbaum said Pena repeatedly forced the woman to have sex with him. He said the defendant also forced her to pose for selfies and read the Bible out loud in Spanish to him.

Pena underwent a mental competency evaluation following his arrest in January. His attorney told reporters earlier this month at Charlestown District Court that he likely would be fit to stand trial. Pena's brother has described his brother as mentally slow.

Jose Pena said he and his family believe Victor is innocent and said he believed the girl was lying.

Here's what his attorney said after the bail hearing:

The woman's disappearance set off a three-day search that sparked national headlines and ended when she was found in Pena's Charlestown apartment. In the weeks following the woman's abduction a second woman went missing from a different Boston night club, prompting the mayor and the police commissioner to open up conversations with several establishments in the city about ways to better prevent something like this happening again.

• Details: Accused Kidnapper Gets Mental Evaluation
• Woman Found: Charlestown Man Charged With Kidnapping
• What The Abducted Woman's Fateful Trip Looked Like
• Missing Woman, 23, Last Seen Leaving Boston Bar: Police, Family
• No Uber Human-Trafficking Ring: Cambridge Police
• Missing Woman's Sister Thanks Everyone For Their Help
• Man Accused Of Kidnapping Woman To Get Evicted
• Victor Pena, Accused Boston Kidnapper, To Be Charged With Rape
• Suffolk Grand Jury Indicts Pena on Rape, Kidnapping Charges

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).