Parole Denied to Mall Rapist

By ADAM SWIFT (Patch Staff)

The Massachusetts Parole Board has denied parole to a man serving eight concurrent life sentences for a series of brutal rapes at shopping malls across the state, including the Woburn Mall, in the 1980s.

Phillip Pizzo, 65, is serving concurrent life sentences stemming from several sexually motivated crimes in Middlesex and Essex counties that took place between August 12, 1983 and Jan. 19, 1984.

At the time of the crimes, Pizzo was 34 and already had a long history of violent crimes, according to the parole board’s decision.

On Nov. 6, 1984, Pizzo pleaded guilty to the Middlesex offenses and was sentenced to eight concurrent life terms for aggravated rape, armed robbery while masked, and armed robbery.

The crimes involved five separate victims and took place on five different days.

Pizzo initially assaulted his victims at four different shopping malls, including the Meadow Glen Mall in Medford, the South Shore Shopping Plaza in Braintree, the Woburn Mall, and the Clover Leaf Marketplace in Natick.

Pizzo later pleaded guilty to similar offenses in Essex County that took place at the North Shore Shopping Center in Peabody in December of 1983 and January of 1984.

Pizzo would accost women in their teens and early 20s at the shopping malls as the victims were about to get into their cars.

In its decision to deny parole for Pizzo that was released this week, the parole board noted the extraordinarily vicious and premeditated nature of the crimes.

“He lacks insight into the impact of his crimes on the victims and he lacks acknowledgment of the harm he caused to the community,” the decision stated. “The particular brutality of these heinous crimes and the predatory nature of the offenses causes Pizzo to be a risk to public safety. Therefore, his release is incompatible with the welfare of society.”

Pizzo was previously denied parole in 2010. He is eligible to go before the parole board again in 2020.