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A school security official at an elite Boston school has been charged with the rape of a woman visiting from Ireland after police say they found her naked on the side of the road outside the Massachusetts State Police barracks on Martha’s Vineyard.
The suspect was allegedly a guest at the barracks visiting a state trooper friend from college, prosecutors said in court at his arraignment.
Edward Brown, 27, pleaded not guilty in connection with the alleged Aug. 15 attack, which prosecutors said took place inside the barracks.
He allegedly met the victim at The Ritz, a bar in Oak Bluffs — the upscale waterfront community where former President Barack Obama owns a home.
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Edward Joseph Brown’s booking photo from the Dukes County Sheriff’s Office. (Dukes County Sheriff’s Office)
Police say they received two 911 calls around 1 a.m. and arrived to find a naked woman in distress. She said she had been approached by a man at the bar before blacking out.
Assistant District Attorney Courtney Scalice presented a graphic account of what happened in court, telling the judge the victim told investigators she had been followed around the bar by a Black man in a white hat, before she awoke face down and naked.
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Exterior of the Ritz Cafe on Circuit Avenue on Oct. 15, 2026. A woman from Ireland has alleged that she met a strange man there before she awoke naked at the nearby Massachusetts State Police barracks and was sexually assaulted. (Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
She told investigators he held her down despite her kicking and screaming. Eventually, she asked for water, and when her attacker left, she said she “ran for her life” out of the building.
She told police she ran down two flights of stairs and out of the building and had been on the road for a few minutes before someone stopped to help.
An aerial view of the harbor and town of Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard. (John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Responding Oak Bluffs police officers saw bruises on her legs and a red mark on her neck, Scalice said.
Brown had allegedly been staying at the barracks as a guest of a trooper stationed there for the summer. Prosecutors identified the trooper as Ryan Costello and said they found Brown with help from a bouncer at The Ritz, the bar where the victim allegedly met her attacker.
The bouncer didn’t know his name but knew he was friends with state troopers and had a photo. Oak Bluffs police sent the picture to Costello on Aug. 29, two weeks after the alleged assault, Scalice said. He identified the man shown as Brown and said they’d been friends since college.
The Martha’s Vineyard State Police barracks on Oct. 15, 2026. (Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Then on Sept. 11, Costello’s attorney gave investigators screenshots of a text conversation between the trooper and Brown, Scalice said.
“Prior to September 11th, 2026, these messages had never been provided to any member of law enforcement investigating the alleged rape,” Scalice said.
Brown allegedly gave shifting accounts of the night to Costello, Scalice told the judge: First he denied bringing a female to the barracks, then he said she’d come inside but left on her own and then he claimed he left her in the Uber and she never came in.
At one point he allegedly texted Costello, “I’m at the barracks with this chick, is that okay?”
Costello, who prosecutors said was not there at the time, replied “okay.” Brown then allegedly asked him where to find condoms and added, “Beers after I slam.”
Cottages in Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. (Getty Images)
Once detectives identified a suspect and obtained a search warrant for Brown’s Uber account, detectives also found a ride from about a half hour before the 911 calls.
“Officers interviewed the Uber driver who confirmed picking up a Black male matching the defendant’s description and a very young looking White female and driving them to the State Police barracks,” Scalice said. “The Uber driver described the female as appearing very intoxicated while the black male was not.”
Brown is listed in jail records as 5 feet, 11 inches tall and 260 pounds. Prosecutors said that they learned from Boston police that he had been the subject of four police reports from two ex-girlfriends claiming he had been harassing them between March and August of this year.
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The victim is from Ireland and has returned home. Scalice said she had been swabbed for DNA and that male samples suitable for comparison had been recovered.
Oak Bluffs police, working with the Boston Police Department’s anti-corruption division, arrested Brown at Boston Latin Academy, where he worked in school security, on Oct. 9. Police allegedly found suspected cocaine in his wallet during the arrest.
Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle stands with Massachusetts State Police officers after being sworn-in as chief. Searle, whose father was chief in nearby Edgartown, also had a child acting role in “Jaws.” (Massachusetts State Police Facebook)
“The Massachusetts State Police has had no involvement in the Oak Bluffs Police Department’s investigation,” Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle said in a Sept. 10 statement, a month before Brown’s arrest. “As part of its investigation, Oak Bluffs Police developed probable cause and applied for and received court-authorized search warrants related to the investigation, including warrants executed at the State Police barracks.”
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A search of the barracks did not recover the victim’s clothes or phone, according to prosecutors.
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“These allegations are deeply troubling,” Massachusetts State Police Col. Geoffrey Noble said. “The Massachusetts State Police are fully cooperating with the ongoing criminal investigation and conducting an internal review of applicable policies, visitor authorization procedures and compliance with established requirements. I am committed to maintaining the highest standards of safety, security and accountability at all State Police facilities and ensuring that any identified deficiencies are addressed with appropriate corrective action.”
MSP no longer allows guests to stay at police housing on Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket as a result of this case.
Brown was released on $10,000 cash bail after his arraignment on Oct. 13. Prosecutors had requested $50,000 bail.
Commercial fishing boats are moored in the port of Menemsha on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. (Paolo Picciotto/REDA/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The judge ordered him to stay away from the victim and any witnesses. He’s due back in court on Dec. 11.
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Twice during the arraignment, Brown attempted to speak, but his attorney and the judge both advised him not to.
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“Mr. Brown has entered a plea of not guilty and denies the allegations,” his defense lawyer, Anthony Ellison, told Fox News Digital Monday. “He maintains full faith in the legal process and looks forward to presenting his case in court. A zealous defense will be mounted on his behalf, as there are always two sides to every story.”
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If convicted, he would face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and would have to register as a sex offender.
