D.A. opposes parole for Lowell rapist

Lowell Sun D.A. opposes parole for Lowell rapist By Lisa Redmond, lredmond@lowellsun.com 09/10/2012 LOWELL -- The Middlesex County District Attorney's Office will oppose the release of Gerard Beaulieu, who pleaded guilty in 1979 to repeatedly raping a 16-year-old Dracut girl, then driving her to a wooded area where he stabbed her and left her to die. On the night of Feb. 4, 1979, the victim was found by a passing motorist, dumped on the side of the road near Vesper Country Club in Tyngsboro, according to published reports. She suffered five stab wounds to her abdomen and lungs, but survived. Since his May 1979 conviction, Beaulieu, then 28, of Lowell, has spent the last 33 years in prison. On Tuesday, Beaulieu, now 61, is scheduled to appear before the state Parole Board to try to convince its members that he should be released. But Middlesex District Attorney Gerard Leone said his office "vigorously opposes'' Beaulieu's release. "Due to the brutal and violent nature of the defendant's acts ... this office vigorously opposes Mr. Beaulieu's petition for release," the Middlesex District Attorney's Office said in a statement. In May 1979, Beaulieu, of Lowell, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape, armed assault, sodomy, assault by means of a dangerous weapon, kidnapping and armed assault with intent to murder. He was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. According to the DA's office, the 16-year-old Dracut High School student was at home cleaning the apartment when Beaulieu called and identified himself Advertisement as a friend of the victim's mother. The victim told Beaulieu that her mother was not home, but wrote down the message for her mother that "Jerry'' called. Shortly after she hung up the phone, the victim opened her apartment door to go to the laundry room and saw Beaulieu standing there. Beaulieu told the victim he was Jerry and asked if he could come in and use her phone to call a friend for a ride. The victim, believing him to be an acquaintance of her mother, allowed Beaulieu to come into the apartment. Beaulieu made several phone calls and claimed the numbers were busy. After watching Beaulieu make about seven phone calls, the victim returned to her chores. While she was in her room making her bed, Beaulieu grabbed her from behind, threw her onto her bed and raped her. Then he tied her hands with a telephone cord he had ripped from the wall. Beaulieu put a coat over the victim's head and dragged her outside to his car. At one point, he stopped the car and raped her again, according to court records of the case. Beaulieu then drove to a secluded area, untied the victim, told her he would not hurt her and would let her go if she did what he told her, then raped her again. He dragged the victim out of the car and into the woods, where he stabbed her in the chest and abdomen five times. During his trial, Beaulieu stopped the testimony after the second day -- just before the victim was scheduled to testify -- to plead guilty to the charges. He was sentenced to three life terms on the rape charges, and a concurrent 10 to 12 years in state prison for the armed assault in a dwelling, seven to 10 years for the armed assault with intent to murder, to be served concurrently, and another concurrent 7-to-10-year state prison sentence on the charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, kidnapping and sodomy. Follow Lisa Redmond at www.twitter.com/ lredmond13. Read more: http://www.lowellsun.com/ci_21507027/d-opposes-parole-lowell-rapist?IADID=Search-www.lowellsun.com-www.lowellsun.com#ixzz26DZa8t2m