Massachusetts

Man Living in Maine Under New Name Charged in Unsolved Massachusetts Rapes

A former Massachusetts resident has been charged in two previously unsolved rape cases from the 1990s after being found living in Maine under a new identity.

Ivan Keith, 61, formerly of Bridgewater, is accused of raping two women in Bristol County more than two decades ago. Prosecutors also say he has been linked to two other unsolved rapes in neighboring counties and that he failed to comply with the state's Sex Offender Registry Board.

Investigators say Keith raped a 36-year-old woman outside Bristol-Plymouth Regional High School in Taunton in July of 1997. Wearing a mask, he allegedly jumped in front of the woman while she was exercising on the track, then led her into the woods, tied her up and raped her.

The following year, in November of 1998, Keith allegedly raped a 47-year-old woman who was working late at Steve Porter Appraisal Services in Easton. He allegedly went into the building and attacked her as she opened an office door to take out the trash. Like in the Taunton case, the woman was bound and the attacker was wearing a mask.

Keith has also been linked to unsolved rape cases in Norfolk County and Plymouth County from 1996, according to the Bristol County District Attorney's Office.

After multiple convictions of sex-related crimes in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as another in Maine in 2000, prosecutors say Keith did not provide a DNA sample to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board. He evaded a 2003 trial date in Brockton District Court.

The Bristol County DA's office said it began reviewing the Taunton and Easton cold cases early in 2019. In July, the office applied for an arrest warrant for Keith on the grounds that he failed to register as a sex offender and made false statements.

Keith was located in Seal Cove, a village in Tremont near Acadia National Park. He was living under a different name, prosecutors said.

Authorities took Keith into custody on Aug. 2. He is due to be arraigned in Taunton District Court Wednesday morning.

The list of charges against Keith includes five counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of threats to commit bodily harm, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. He is also charged with breaking and entering in the night with intent to commit a felony, failure to register as a sex offender, perjury and making false statements.

It was not immediately clear if Keith had an attorney.

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