Viprino Pleads Not Guilty To 46 Charges

BARNSTABLE – The Harwich man indicted on numerous rape and weapons charges in November was arraigned on additional counts in Barnstable Superior Court Tuesday after more victims came forward with claims against him.

Barry Viprino, 42, was arraigned on and pleaded not guilty to 46 charges, including one count of aggravated rape, 19 counts of rape, five counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over the age of 14, one count of kidnapping, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, two counts of witness intimidation, one count of possessing a large-capacity firearm, and 15 counts of possessing a large-capacity feeding device for a firearm.

Judge Gregg Pasquale ordered Viprino held on $200,000 cash bail. He was also ordered to surrender his firearms and passport, submit to GPS monitoring if he makes bail, not to leave Massachusetts and to have no contact with any person under the age of 18 with the exception of his children if they contact him.

Viprino has been held on bail since November, when he was first arraigned in Orleans District Court on 11 counts of rape and one additional count each of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over and possession of a large capacity firearm. Those charges stem from alleged assaults involving three victims last summer, all of whom were underage at the time of the alleged encounters.

The 46 charges from Tuesday’s arraignment include those charges from November, as well as those brought by four additional victims that have since come forward to Harwich police.

Assistant District Attorney Courtney Scalice said that Victim 4 was 16 at the time she was allegedly assaulted by Viprino. She told staff at Children’s Cove in November that in July, Viprino allegedly sexually assaulted her in the back of his truck. Scalice said the alleged assault was one of several that took place both in Viprino’s truck and his garage office at his home in Harwich.

“She described that she hated all of it, and wouldn’t wish anyone else to go through it,” Scalice said Tuesday.

Victim 5, who was 18 at the time, moved into Viprino’s basement last summer after he allegedly threatened to report her mother to the Department of Children and Families if she didn’t. She told staff at Children’s Cove that Viprino repeatedly asked her to “take a test,” which she believed involved sex or drugs, Scalice said.

During one alleged incident in Viprino’s home office, Viprino confided in the victim that his marriage was falling apart, and later pulled her onto his lap. When she asked to leave, Viprino allegedly threatened to kill himself with a gun he had in his office.

“Victim 5 described being scared and uncomfortable, and the defendant eventually let her get up as she returned to her room in the basement of his house,” Scalice said.

Victim 5 also reported another alleged incident involving a sixth victim, who Scalice said is one of Viprino’s children. Scalice said Viprino held a gun to his child’s head because he thought that they were being disrespectful to Victim 5.

Victim 7 told staff at Children’s Cove that Viprino, who she knew through her boyfriend, would allegedly touch her and regularly make “disgusting and gross” comments about her body “that a grown man shouldn’t be saying to a 17-year-old,” Scalice said.

Scalice also said that Viprino allegedly tried to get Victim 7 to tell Harwich police that she was raped at gunpoint by the boyfriend of Victim 1, which she refused to do.

Alleged efforts to remove weapons from Viprino’s home office were also discussed during Tuesday’s arraignment. Scalice said that two independent witnesses told investigators that they were called to Viprino’s office to remove weapons ahead of a search warrant conducted by Harwich police in September. The search yielded several high capacity gun magazines, but no weapons.

Scalice said the removed weapons have since been turned over to Harwich police.

Viprino has access to property in Vermont and had mentioned to victims about possibly “going AWOL” to Florida, Scalice said. She argued for the $200,000 cash bail, the same that was set in November, as assurance that Viprino will not flee.

“The defendant has allegedly made a habit of grooming little girls who are less than half his age,” she said. “He allegedly continued to groom, manipulate and sexually exploit young girls while he knew that charges were pending against him.”

Viprino’s attorney, Matthew Bober, argued for bail to be set at $25,000, citing a lack of physical evidence to support the charges against his client. He also challenged the credibility of the seven accusers, all of whom he said are connected in one way or another.

“We have to remember, Judge, that these are allegations,” he said. “They’re very serious in nature, but they are allegations.”

One victim has made a false rape accusation against someone in the past, Bober said, while he said another claimed to have been off her medication and not in her right mind when making her statements. He also said that the sixth victim denied that Viprino ever threatened them with a gun when interviewed by a private investigator.

Bober further alleged that the victims are associated with the leader of a group known locally as the “508 Mafia,” which he said itself recruits and sexually exploits young girls in the Monomoy-Harwich area.

Bober also attempted to discredit the witnesses that reported removing guns from Viprino’s office, noting that they were given immunity for their testimony. He also said that claims from victims that Viprino was a hitman and involved in gun running are false.

“We’ve seen no police reports corroborating that in any way,” he said.

Viprino has no prior convictions on his record, Bober noted. He was previously tried and acquitted of a separate charge of rape in 2004.

Viprino, a Nauset Regional High School graduate, suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, seizures and other health issues, Bober said. He is married with three children and used to operate a farm in Harwich, but is currently unemployed. Bober also noted that Viprino has lost his disability benefits and is in danger of having his house foreclosed on, and that he cannot make the $200,000 bail.

But Pasquale said setting the bail beyond what can be paid is needed to ensure Viprino’s future appearance in court. A pretrial conference was set for April 30, followed by a pretrial hearing on June 3.

Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com