Lawrence Police Officer Held Without Bail For Allegedly Raping 13-Year-Old Boy

A police officer from the Massachusetts police department was accused of raping a 13-year-old boy he met on a dating app.

Officer Carlos Vieira allegedly met the boy on Grindr—an online dating app targeted towards gay, bi, transsexual and queer people—and allegedly raped the boy one summer night.

The investigation began on Jan. 29 when the boy’s mother found out that her son met the officer. The two had connected on the app and later met in a park. The boy kept this a secret till he saw Vieira directing traffic during the Merrimack Valley gas explosions in September, 2018. The boy was in a car with his aunt and when he saw Vieira on the road, he seemed to get scared and tried to hide. He told his mother about the incident in January, also confessing that he wasn't aware that the man was a police officer till he saw him in September.

The teen's mother said she didn’t go to the police since the accused was also a police officer. Instead, she contacted an attorney who spoke to a defense attorney. Vieira has been placed on administrative leave following his arrest. His attorney Gil Nason said he thinks the boy may have mistaken his client for someone else. He further said that there was a photo array that didn’t have any positive identification. However, a dark SUV registered to Vieira matched the description of the one the boy said he had a sexual encounter in. The car was seized by the police for investigation.

The boy said he tried looking for Vieira on Grindr after the alleged rape but was unable to find him. In an interview, during the investigation, Vieira accepted to have used the app earlier.

“That’s an accusation. That’s sometimes all it takes. As far as we know, there is no DNA, there’s no forensics in this case. It’s just an ID of somebody saying something. And that’s why we’re here,” Nason said.

While Vieira has entered a not guilty plea, he is being held without a bail.

“I am angry, sickened, dismayed, saddened by the allegations and the charges. We have worked very hard to improve and uplift the professionalism of the Lawrence Police Department. We have fired and forced out many officers who did not meet and could not stand up to the code of conduct and the high level of professionalism that my office, the chief of police and the men and women and leadership of the Police Unions have worked to established,” Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said.

Nason said Vieira had received several awards on the job and is a Marine veteran and that he was distraught and stunned by the accusations and said there was no relationship between him and the boy.

He was arrested and ordered to be held without bail Monday at Haverhill. He has a dangerousness hearing to be held on Friday.