sexual assault

Suspect in Downtown Boston Rape Arrested

Boston police released photos of the suspect on Tuesday and announced Wednesday that he has been located and taken into custody

Boston police

Boston police have arrested a registered sex offender suspected of raping a person downtown over the weekend.

Edwin Fantauzzi, a 33-year-old from Lawrence, was arrested Wednesday, police confirm. He faces charges of rape, assault with intent to rape and assault and battery in connection with an attack around 6:30 a.m. Saturday near Harrison Avenue. No further details about the alleged assault have been released.

Police said they were able to find Fantauzzi after someone recognized him from a photo released by investigators and called 911. He was taken into custody after a brief struggle, police said. It is believed that during his arrest he may have swallowed a small amount of an unknown white, powdery substance, and he was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Fantauzzi is the same man who'd been sought in 2018 in the sexual assault of a child in Boston's Roxbury neighborhood, police confirmed to NBC Boston. He is a Level 3 registered sex offender, according to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board.

The investigation into the Harrison Avenue rape continues. Anyone with any information is asked to call detectives at 617-343-4400.

Sex assault resources are available at the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673. Since it was first created in 1994, the National Sexual Assault Hotline has helped more than two million people, according to its website.

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