Overview
- Oak Bluffs Police say they responded in late August to a report of a woman in distress and developed information indicating an alleged sexual assault occurred at the Massachusetts State Police Oak Bluffs barracks.
- Massachusetts State Police confirmed the report involves two people who are not department members and said the person accused was visiting a trooper assigned to the island for the summer.
- The Oak Bluffs criminal investigation is being handled by local officers with communication to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office and limited public detail released to protect the inquiry.
- State police have opened an Internal Affairs review that they say will closely follow the criminal case while officials caution that some media accounts rely on anonymous sources and remain unverified.
- The incident raises oversight questions because it reportedly occurred inside a police facility and the community, the alleged victim, and the accused will be affected as charging decisions and the internal review move forward.