Bail set for Reed, alleged rapist
MIT will increase patrols and lock Bldg 2 rooms at night
Bail was set at $2,500 on Wednesday for Jason Reed, the homeless man arrested on campus last Tuesday and charged with rape. As of yesterday evening, he had not posted bail and was still in custody.
Reed was arrested in the early morning hours on March 30 after a woman was raped in a classroom in Building 2 around 2 a.m. Reed was found in the vicinity about an hour later.
While they knew each other, neither Reed nor the victim had any MIT affiliation, said MIT Police.
Captain Jay A. Perault of the MIT Campus Police said that the Police “have increased our uniformed patrols in the areas we have encountered non-affiliates in the past,” but was not specific about the number of patrols.
Perault also said that MIT Facilities was working with the Registrar’s Office, “locking more doors to keep non-affiliates out of our buildings.”
Peter D. Bedrosian, assistant registrar, said that Facilities would be locking classrooms in Building 2 after hours, but that other classrooms would be continue to be available to students as usual.
Perault said that Police Sergeant Richard M. Sullivan would be coordinating between the Police and overnight custodians. Custodians are often the first to observe suspicious behavior during the night.
Reed was arraigned on Mar. 30 on two counts of rape and one count of trespassing. His bail was set at a dangerousness hearing this Wednesday.
Reed was previously convicted of assault and battery from an incident that took place on Jan. 2, 2010. The victim, Shereen A. Westdahl, was hospitalized and subsequently released. Westdahl died one week later, on Jan 10.
For the assault, Reed was sentenced on Mar. 16 to three months in jail, but he received credit for the time he had already served and did no further time.
Reed appears to have been arrested previously in Boston in 1999, according to records of bail petitions. Records from that case are not available since the Boston Municipal Court destroys records after five years, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said.
— John A. Hawkinson