LaGuer up for parole
Convicted rapist says he was framed

By Matthew Bruun

June 8. 2003 

NORFOLK- Benjamin LaGuer turned 40 years old last month, and this year he will mark another milestone: He has spent fully half of his life behind bars. He has spent all that time proclaiming his innocence in the ....

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Parole plea for LaGuer
Victim's family battles to keep rapist jailed

By Matthew Bruun

June 13, 2003

BOSTON -- Benjamin LaGuer was back before the Parole Board yesterday morning, seeking an early release from the life sentence handed down almost 20 years ago when he was convicted of beating and raping his neighbor in Leominster.

At an often contentious hearing that lasted almost 31/2 hours, Mr. LaGuer tried to convince the six-member board that it should not trust the DNA analysis that last year placed his genetic material at the scene of the 1983 eight-hour rape and beating.

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(read Robert Barry's letter to the editor)

LaGuer denied parole
Convicted rapist seeks new trial

By Matthew Bruun

June 26, 2003 

COLUMN

Media fell for tactics of LaGuer

The biggest folder in my file cabinet is the one bearing the name of convicted rapist Benjamin LaGuer. It's easily 5 inches thick, crammed with court motions, newspaper clippings, press releases and lengthy letters from the ubiquitous inmate, who created a career of depicting himself a victim of a biased criminal justice system. I was on vacation March 23 when colleague Matthew Bruun broke the story that the DNA testing pushed for by Mr. LaGuer had linked him to the brutal beating...

A STUDY IN CONTRASTS

May 14, 2002

WGBH-TV producer Patricia Alvarado was shaken when she heard the news, and she headed directly to a room where the film editor was working on ``Last Chance DNA.''  ``Something has happened,'' Ms. Alvarado informed John Neuberger as she sank into a chair. Ms. Alvarado told him that the results of DNA tests on Benjamin LaGuer had further implicated him in the crime of rape. Mr. LaGuer, who had come from Leominster, where the crime was committed, had claimed for nearly two…

EDITORIAL: DNA VERDICT

March 31, 2002

Since it was first used in Massachusetts in 1989, DNA typing has become a powerful tool for positively identifying suspects in serious crimes. The technique has been used in several celebrated cases to exonerate people falsely convicted of serious crimes. In a high-profile Leominster case, the technique has proved its worth not by exonerating the perpetrator but by validating the conviction. Benjamin LaGuer of Leominster was convicted of the aggravated rape of a…

DNA FINDING DIFFICULT TO REBUT

March 31, 2002

Dr. Edward T. Blake refers to ``a tale of two cases.'' From his Forensic Science Associates laboratory in Richmond, Calif., the DNA expert's recent work on a pair of high-profile rape cases points to the power of genetic testing to exonerate the wrongly convicted or affirm the results of trials. Bruce Godschalk was 26 years old when he was convicted of raping two women who lived in the same housing complex in Pennsylvania. It was 1987, and the landscaper had been picked by…

SILBER DEFENDS AIDING LAGUER

March 29, 2002

BOSTON -- Ten years ago, an instructor in Boston University's prison education program told John R. Silber about a remarkable inmate studying literature and poetry. ``She gave me some of his poetry to read,'' Mr. Silber recalled. ``We just became pen pals.'' That inmate was Benjamin LaGuer, who had been sentenced to life in prison after being convicted in early 1984 of raping and beating the woman who lived next door to his apartment on Water Street in…

LAGUER VICTIM'S FAMILY SPEAKS OUT

March 28, 2002

LEOMINSTER -- News that a DNA test reinforced the case against Benjamin LaGuer brought elation to the family of the woman he was convicted of beating and raping in her Water Street apartment in 1983. The victim's son-in-law spoke out on the family's behalf yesterday, ending its public silence on the high-profile case. His name is being withheld to protect the identity of the victim, who was 59 at the time of the assault. She died in October 1999 at the age of 75. Mr. LaGuer has…

RAPE SCENE HAUNTED MAZZARELLA AS OFFICER

March 27, 2002

LEOMINSTER -- The young police officer had been on the force barely two months when the call came in -- a woman in her apartment needed help. It was before dawn on July 13, 1983. ``It was a pretty quiet night,'' he said. ``That's really when the town starts to quiet down. The city was just wakening.'' The officers were let in to the Water Street apartment complex and went to the first-floor residence where the woman was in distress. Then they walked in…

CONTE SAYS DNA MATCH PROVES GUILT

March 27, 2002

WORCESTER -- District Attorney John J. Conte, who for years has stood by his office's prosecution of Benjamin LaGuer, said yesterday DNA test results linking the defendant to the crime scene were conclusive evidence of his guilt. ``In 1984, we proved Mr. LaGuer's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, that is, to a moral certainty,'' Mr. Conte said in a news release. ``In 2002, DNA testing has proved Mr. LaGuer's guilt to a mathematical certainty.'' Mr. LaGuer…

JUROR SURE LAGUER IS GUILTY

March 26, 2002

WORCESTER -- A juror who had second thoughts about having helped convict Benjamin LaGuer of rape in 1984 said recent DNA testing has convinced him the jury did the right thing. Mr. LaGuer's protests that police tampered with the DNA evidence are ``grasping at straws,'' William P. Nowick said. Mr. Nowick of Worcester sat on the jury that convicted Mr. LaGuer in early 1984 of beating and raping his then-59-year-old Leominster neighbor, who has since died. Mr. Nowick later…

LAGUER DNA A MATCH

March 23, 2002

LEOMINSTER -- Benjamin LaGuer, convicted of the brutal 1983 rape of his former neighbor, yesterday said his genetic profile matches the one gleaned from evidence collected at the crime scene. A defiant Mr. LaGuer, 38, who has maintained his innocence to all who would listen for two decades, claimed that ``forensic fiddling'' led to this week's conclusion. Mr. LaGuer also said he believes the victim of the attack, who was 59 when she was assaulted in her apartment for eight…

DNA TEST IS SHORT OF MONEY

March 12, 2002

WORCESTER -- A shortage of money is holding up DNA testing that a former Leominster man has said will exonerate him of the 1983 rape for which he was sentenced to life in prison. Lawyer David M. Siegel, who has represented Benjamin LaGuer during the DNA saga, said yesterday that his office was ``a few thousand dollars'' short of making the payment to Forensic Science Associates of California, the laboratory where the testing is to be completed. Forensic chemist Dr. Edward T….

DA OKS DNA TESTS

February 21, 2002.

WORCESTER -- District Attorney John J. Conte said yesterday his office has given the go-ahead to final DNA testing in the case of Benjamin LaGuer, the Leominster man who has been in prison almost 19 years for a rape he says he did not commit. A genetic profile has already been gleaned from the evidence collected after the July 12, 1983, rape of Mr. LaGuer's former neighbor. All that remains now is to compare that profile with a sample of Mr. LaGuer's blood collected last year in…

LAGUER JUDGE ORDERS DOCUMENT PRESERVATION

February 13, 2002

WORCESTER -- Superior Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman has ordered all documents connected with the Benjamin LaGuer case to be preserved until further notice. The order, dated Feb. 1, applies to District Attorney John J. Conte's office, the Massachusetts State Police, the state police crime laboratory and the Leominster Police Department. Lawyers for Mr. LaGuer filed a motion seeking the order after the discovery of a potentially exculpatory fingerprint report among documents slated…

GENETIC PROFILE ANALYSIS `STRONG'

February 9, 2002

The DNA expert who developed a genetic profile of the man who raped a Leominster woman in 1983 said it should take only weeks to determine whether Benjamin LaGuer matches it. Mr. LaGuer is serving a life sentence for the July 1983 rape of his 59-year-old former neighbor. She identified him as her assailant and, based largely on her testimony, he was convicted of the rape. Mr. LaGuer has maintained his innocence since his arrest just days after the crime. Dr. Edward T. Blake, who…

DNA PROFILE MADE OF '83 RAPIST

February 7, 2002

A California crime laboratory has determined the genetic profile of the man who raped a 59-year-old woman in her Leominster apartment the night of July 12, 1983. That profile remains to be tested against a blood sample given by Benjamin LaGuer, the Leominster man who was sentenced to life in prison after a jury convicted him of the crime. Mr. LaGuer, identified by the victim as her attacker, has maintained his innocence since his arrest on July 15, 1983. Forensic Science Associates…

LAWYERS WANT EVIDENCE SAVED

February 1, 2002

LEOMINSTER -- After the discovery of a potentially exculpatory fingerprint report in a pile of documents slated for destruction, lawyers for Benjamin LaGuer have filed a motion seeking to order law enforcement agencies to preserve all documents connected with the case. Meanwhile, DNA testing on evidence collected at the scene of the July 1983 rape of which Mr. LaGuer was convicted has been completed and the results are expected soon, his lawyer said yesterday. ``On November 15, 2001, the…

LA GUER ALLEGES EVIDENCE HIDDEN

December 12, 2001

LEOMINSTER -- A newly unearthed state police report shows the lead detective in the case against Benjamin La Guer lied on the stand about fingerprints found at the scene of a brutal rape in 1983, defense lawyers said in a motion filed yesterday. The 1983 report said four fingerprints taken from important evidence in the victim's Water Street apartment were not Mr. La Guer's, and the city detective in charge of the case was told the results the day after the defendant's…

JUDGE REVISES DNA TEST ORDER IN LAGUER CASE

May 5, 2001

WORCESTER -- A Superior Court judge issued a revised order this week to allow the testing of DNA evidence from the 1983 rape case that ended with the conviction of Benjamin LaGuer of Leominster. Mr. LaGuer has maintained his innocence since his arrest in connection with the July 12, 1983, assault on his former neighbor. He was sentenced to life in prison. Judge Timothy S. Hillman's order, distributed Thursday, was issued after District Attorney John J. Conte's office requested…

 

NEW RULES AWAITED ON DNA \ LAGUER CASE NEEDS TESTING PROCEDURE

April 25, 2001

WORCESTER -- Prosecutors in Massachusetts are working on procedures that would let those convicted of crimes undergo DNA tests that could support their claims of innocence. The issue of such DNA tests is provoking increasing debate nationally, with some people maintaining that it can provide clear evidence of a person's guilt or innocence, and others arguing that it could clog the courts with frivolous appeals and inflict needless pain on victims and their families. New attention is …

DNA TESTS APPROVED BY JUDGE \ LEOMINSTER MAN CLAIMS INNOCENCE

February 24, 2001

WORCESTER -- For nearly two decades, Benjamin La Guer of Leominster has said he was innocent of the July 1983 assault and rape of his former neighbor. He was convicted by a jury and sentenced to life in prison. For more than a year he has sought to have DNA evidence from the case tested to prove his claims. Such testing was not available at the time of his conviction in 1984. Now, a Superior Court judge has given the go-ahead for the tests to begin. Mr. La Guer, 37, was arrested on…

JUDGE SAYS PRISON WRONG IN FIRING INMATES FROM PAPER \ LAWSUIT

June 22, 1995

WORCESTER - A Superior Court judge has found that Gardner State Prison officials acted improperly in firing two inmates from their jobs on the prison newspaper, but has dismissed the inmates' related civil lawsuit as moot. Judge Barbara A. Lenk released a 17-page ruling June 1 in a suit brought by inmates Benjamin Laguer and William Nadworny against John Marshall, superintendent of the North Central Correctional Institution at Gardner and former superintendent Paul Rakiey. Laguer…

Obituaray

LUPERTO LAGUER, 74

February 20, 1995

LEOMINSTER - Luperto Laguer, 74, of 135 Whitney St., a retired road-construction worker, died yesterday in The Highlands Care Center, Fitchburg, after a long illness. He leaves three sons, Benjamin Laguer of Leominster, Eliezer and David Laguer, both of New York City; three daughters, Judith Irizarry, Aida Ramos and Lisa Bromes, all of Leominster; a brother, Gregorio Gonzalez of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico; a sister, Raquel Correa of Brooklyn, N.Y.; 10 grandchildren; three great-grandchildren…

INMATES CLAIM FREE-SPEECH VIOLATION

June 10, 1994

GARDNER - Two inmates who claim their right to free speech was violated when they were dismissed as editors of a newsletter at Gardner State Prison filed suit yesterday against two prison superintendents. The action on behalf of William Nadworny, publisher and editor in chief of The Gardner Press Newsletter; and Benjamin Laguer, associate publisher and editorial director, was filed in Worcester Superior Court by the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.

Their lawyer in the class-action…

LAGUER HAS "HOPE BY THE BARREL' \ COURT SAYS NO TO NEW TRIAL

May 29, 1994

I spoke to Benjamin Laguer, who has spent 11 years in prison for a vicious rape he says he did not commit, the morning after he learned that his last hope for a new trial had been dashed by the Supreme Judicial Court. "It's a lovely day here at the penitentiary," he said. "If I don't say that, I'll cry. For 11 years, all I've been trying to do is get people to help me uncover the truth about what happened that summer night in 1983." If Laguer has…

APPEAL BID FALLS SHORT

May 29, 1994

BOSTON - The Supreme Judicial Court has turned down Benjamin Laguer's request for further appellate review of his 1984 trial for rape, which he claimed was marred by racial insults among the jurors. His lawyer, Patricia O'Neill, said Friday the high court decision marks "the end of the traditional appellate route." Any recourse to the federal courts, she said, "is something I have to look at." Laguer was convicted of beating and raping a 59-year-old woman in…

DISMISSAL OF RACISM IN LAGUER CASE APPEALED

June 26, 1993

BOSTON - A brief filed Thursday in the state Appeals Court argues that a Worcester Superior Court judge was mistaken when he ruled in 1991 that jurors did not make ethnically oriented remarks during a Leominster man's 1984 trial. Patricia A. O'Neill, a lawyer with the state Committee for Public Counsel Services, said the ruling was not supported by evidence that anti-Hispanic slurs were made before Benjamin Laguer was convicted of a 1983 rape. Laguer's effort to win a new…

LAGUER LOSES BID FOR RETRIAL \ JUDGE SAYS NO PROOF OF RACIAL BIAS

September 4, 1991

A convicted rapist's bid for a new trial on grounds of juror racism has been denied. The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled in May that Benjamin Laguer, who is serving a life sentence for aggravated rape, was entitled to a new trial if allegations of juror racism, as outlined in a juror's affidavit, were found to be "essentially true." In a decision released yesterday, Superior Court Judge Robert V. Mulkern denied the motion for a new trial. The ruling followed a…

JUDGE WEIGHING LAGUER'S REQUEST FOR A NEW TRIAL

August 30, 1991

A Superior Court judge will decide whether a Leominster man convicted of rape is entitled to a new trial because of allegations of juror racism. Benjamin Laguer, 28, a former Leominster resident of Hispanic heritage, is seeking a new trial on grounds that racist comments were allegedly made by a juror or jurors during his 1984 trial. Laguer, who is serving a life sentence for the aggravated rape of a 59-year-old woman in her Leominster apartment, has maintained his innocence. The state…

JUROR HEARD NO RACIAL COMMENTS

August 28, 1991

One of the 12 jurors who found Benjamin Laguer guilty of raping a 59-year-old Leominster woman testified yesterday that he heard no racial comments by other jurors during the 1984 trial. Stephen Martin of Oxford said he had only a vague memory of the jury deliberations in the case, but did not recall any racial comments by other jurors either during the trial or deliberations. Martin's testimony came during a Worcester Superior Court hearing to determine whether allegations of juror…

LAGUER JURORS EXCHANGE ACCUSATIONS

August 27, 1991

Two jurors in Benjamin Laguer's 1984 rape trial each accused the other yesterday of making racist remarks during the deliberations that led to Laguer's conviction. Laguer, a 28-year-old former Leominster resident of Hispanic heritage, is serving a life sentence as a result of his having been found guilty of raping a 59-year-old white woman in 1983. The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled in May that Laguer, who has maintained his innocence, should receive a new trial if allegations…

HEARING ON JUROR RACISM POSTPONED

July 11, 1991

A hearing to determine the validity of allegations of juror racism during a Leominster man's 1984 rape trial has been rescheduled for Aug. 26. The state Supreme Judicial Court ruled in May that Benjamin Laguer, who was convicted of the 1983 rape of a 59-year-old Leominster woman, should get a new trial if allegations of juror racism during his 1984 trial are found to be true after an evidentiary hearing. The hearing had been slated for a week from today, but was rescheduled yesterday…

LETTER TO THE EDITOR FROM WORCESTER DA JOHN J. CONTE

Upon reading a column by Billings. B. Kingsbury May 26 concerning convicted rapist Benjamin Laguer, I am compelled to rectify certain misperceptions about the 1983 case.

HEARING IN RAPE CONVICTION TO PROBE JUROR RACISM CHARGE

May 31, 1991

Superior Court Judge Robert V. Mulkern yesterday scheduled a June 10 status hearing in Lowell Superior Court in the case of Benjamin Laguer, a Leominster man who said he was unjustly convicted for a 1983 rape. The Supreme Judicial Court last month ordered that an evidentiary hearing be held to determine whether allegations of juror racism during Laguer's 1984 Worcester Superior Court trial are "essentially true." If so, the SJC ordered that a new trial be held…

INTERESTING ANGLES TO RAPE APPEAL

May 26, 1991

It will be interesting to see the eventual bottom line in the intriguing case of Benjamin Laguer, who contends he was improperly convicted of the 1983 rape of a 59-year-old woman in Leominster. On May 14, the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled that Laguer is entitled to a new trial if there is truth to his claim that juror racism marked his 1984 trial in Worcester Superior Court. A hearing will be scheduled in that court on the issue. The persistent Laguer, a dark-skinned Puerto Rican, is…

SJC ORDERS HEARING FOR LAGUER / JUROR RACISM IS ALLEGED

May 15, 1991

BOSTON - The state Supreme Judicial Court yesterday ruled that Benjamin Laguer should get a new trial in a rape case if allegations of juror racism during his 1984 Worcester Superior Court trial are true. The SJC sent the case back to the trial court for a hearing to determine if racial slurs were made by one or more jurors. No date was set for the hearing. Laguer, 28, has maintained his innocence since he was charged in the brutal July 1983 rape of a 59-year-old woman in Leominster. Now…

LAGUER AGAIN ASKS JUDGE FOR NEW TRIAL

July 14, 1989

A convicted rapist whose motion for a new trial was denied last month by Superior Court Judge Robert V. Mulkern has asked the judge to reconsider his decision. Benjamin Laguer of Leominster is serving a life sentence for the 1983 rape of a 59-year-old Leominster woman in her home. Laguer, who has maintained his innocence, sought a new trial on the grounds of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, Worcester lawyer Peter L. Ettenberg, and "absence of substantial evidence." In a…

LAGUER LOSES BID FOR NEW RAPE TRIAL

June 3, 1989

Benjamin Laguer, serving a life sentence for a 1983 rape in Leominster, was denied a new trial yesterday. Superior Court Judge Robert Robert V. Mulkern also refused to conduct an inquiry into whether the 1984 jury verdict against Laguer was tainted by prejudice against Hispanics. Laguer, 26, who is in Gardner State Prison, said he will appeal to a three-judge panel of the Massachusetts Appeals Court. "It's so disappointing to have worked for so long and have it…

MAN CONVICTED OF RAPE PLEADS FOR NEW TRIAL

May 23, 1989

BOSTON - In an emotional 20-minute speech yesterday, Benjamin Laguer, serving a life sentence for a 1983 rape of a 59-year-old woman in Leominster, pleaded with the trial judge to grant him a new trial. "I'm not asking to walk out that door," he told Superior Court Judge Robert V. Mulkern, "I'm asking for a new trial." However, James R. Lemire, special assistant district attorney, told the judge the victim is now in a nursing home, a key witness has since…

BID FOR NEW TRIAL BY LEOMINSTER MAN FOCUS OF PBS SHOW

May 10, 1989

Benjamin Laguer is serving a life sentence for a crime he says he didn't commit. But unlike hundreds of other prison inmates who would also protest their innocence, Laguer has worked at establishing information alledging that his conviction was "a case of mistaken identity." Laguer presses his bid for a second trial on Channel 2's "La Plaza" at 6:30 p.m. Saturday on WGBH-TV. The half-hour special, "Sentenced to Life," repeats on WGBX-TV, Channel 44, at…

HEARING DATE FOR NEW TRIAL SET IN RAPE CASE

May 2, 1989

A Superior Court judge has scheduled a May 11 hearing in connection with a Leominster man's bid for a new trial in a 1983 rape case. Judge Robert V. Mulkern ruled Thursday that the hearing will be limited to scientific evidence legal advisers to Benjamin Laguer say warrants a new trial. Laguer was convicted by a jury in 1984 of the aggravated rape of a 59-year-old woman in her Leominster home. The woman was raped repeatedly over an eight-hour period in July 1983. In addition to…

LAGUER HEARING SCHEDULED MAY 11

April 28, 1989

A Superior Court judge has scheduled a May 11 hearing in connection with a Leominster man's bid for a new trial in a 1983 rape case. Judge Robert V. Mulkern ruled yesterday that the hearing will be limited to scientific evidence legal advisers to Benjamin Laguer say warrants a new trial. Laguer was convicted by a jury in 1984 of the aggravated rape of a 59-year-old woman in her Leominster home. The woman was raped repeatedly over an eight-hour period in July, 1983. In addition to…

MAN SEEKS NEW TRIAL \ CLAIMS JURY WAS TAINTED BY RACIAL PREJUDICE

April 2, 1989

A "Fidler investigation" of jury impartiality is possible in the case of a Leominster man seeking a new trial in a controversial 1983 rape case. The 1979 decision in Commonwealth vs. John W. Fidler is the governing case law on the subject. Much of it deals with "extraneous matter" reaching juries. Jury verdicts are supposed to be based solely on courtroom evidence and be free of outside influence. Among issues raised by Benjamin Laguer, who is serving a life term for…

LAGUER HEARING SLATED \ RACIAL PREJUDICE CLAIMED IN RAPE CASE

March 30, 1989

A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for 9 a.m. April 27 in the Superior Court case of Benjamin Laguer of Leominster, who is seeking a new trial in a 1983 rape case. The hearing date was set yesterday during a meeting between Judge Robert V. Mulkern and lawyers in the case. Laguer is represented by Robert Turk of Boston and the prosecution by special Assistant District Attorney James R. Lemire. Lemire, who is now in private practice, was the prosecutor at the trial. He has agreed to…

RETRIAL SOUGHT IN RAPE CASE

March 28, 1989

Lawyers in the case of a Leominster man seeking a new trial in a 1983 rape case are scheduled to meet tomorrow with Superior Court Judge Robert V. Mulkern to discuss a hearing date. Benjamin Laguer, then 22, was convicted by a jury on Jan. 30, 1984, of repeatedly raping a 59-year-old neighbor for eight hours in July 1983. He was convicted of aggravated rape, breaking and entering, robbery of money and jewelry, and assault and battery. On Feb. 17, 1984, Mulkern sentenced Laguer to life…