Swampscott Man Accused Of Raping Women At Gunpoint Set Free

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Suffolk County prosecutors dropped charges against a Swampscott man who was supposed to have gone on trial next month after a judge ruled they could not use photo identifications made by the five women he was accused of raping at gunpoint. Joseph Losano, 53, had been accused of picking up women on Boston's "Methadone Mile" in 2017 and 2018 under the guise of paying for sex, then using a gun to sexually assault them.

"The perpetrator of these sex crimes targeted women that he believed society does not value," Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement, adding that her office was "disappointed" but investigators would continue to "search for this sexual predator and will not stop until he is held accountable."

Losano first named as a potential suspect in April 2018 after being pulled over in the area while driving a truck with the same license plate given by one of his victims. The following month Losano was arrested in a Peabody hotel.

But a judge ruled the photo arrays used by investigators to have victims identify Losano could not be admitted at trial because the other men in the array were much younger than the former Marine. The Massachusetts State Police’s Commonwealth Fusion Center created the photo arrays for Boston police.

"Mr. Losano is innocent of these charges and justice was done," James Sultan, Loasano's attorney, told the Boston Globe. In an email to the newspaper, Losano said he plans to sue the Boston Police Department.

Losano once sued Swampscott for removing him from the certification list as a reserve police officer. The case was dismissed, and Civil Service Commissioner Donald Marquis said in his conclusion of the case that an investigation "depicts an individual not in touch with reality."