FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 13 , 2007

Contact: Corey Welford/Jessica Venezia (617) 679-6522  

Revere Man Found Guilty And Sentenced To State Prison For Raping Woman At His
Cambridge Massage Business

CAMBRIDGE – Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone’s office informed the public today that a Revere man has been convicted and sentenced to State Prison for raping a then 19-year-old female customer at his Cambridge massage business. 

Duncan Purdy, age 53, was found guilty today by a Middlesex Superior Court jury on one count of rape. Superior Court Judge Diane Kottmyer sentenced Purdy to 7-10 years in State Prison from and after the 2 – 2 years and one day sentence that he is currently serving for a previous conviction of running a house of prostitution from the same place of business.

“This defendant has exhibited a pattern of abusing vulnerable young women and this is now the second such crime that he has been convicted of this year,” District Attorney Leone said. “I commend the victim’s courage to come forward to law enforcement and then explain to a jury what had happened to her. It was because of her bravery that we were able to prove this case and hold the defendant responsible for his crimes.”

Purdy was convicted on February 23, 2007 for the charges of maintaining a house of prostitution at the same institution where the rape occurred. For those crimes, he was sentenced to 2 years – 2 years and a day in State Prison. 

In March 2004, the victim came in for a scheduled massage with the defendant at the About Hair Salon in Cambridge.  During the course of the massage, the defendant raped the then 19-year-old woman.  The victim reported the alleged incident to police when she learned of Purdy’s arrest in October 2005 for running a prostitution operation out of his salon.  An investigation was conducted by the Cambridge Police Department and the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and Purdy was arraigned on March 22, 2006.

The prosecutor assigned to this case is Assistant District Attorney Mindy Thompson. The victim witness advocate was Shawn MacMaster.

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