Harwich Man Charged With 11 Counts Of Rape

ORLEANS – A Harwich man pleaded not guilty in Orleans District Court Thursday to numerous charges, including 11 counts of rape.

Barry D. Viprino, 42, also pleaded not guilty to one additional count each of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or over and possession of a large capacity firearm.

Viprino is alleged to have forced sex upon three victims between the two cases in a detached garage and office space at his home as well as other locations. Each of the three victims were under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged offenses.

“The defendant has allegedly made a habit out of grooming little girls who are less than half his age,” Assistant District Attorney Courtney Scalice said Thursday.

Judge Robert A. Welsh III ordered that Viprino be held on a total of $200,000 bail, $100,000 for each of the two cases brought forth during Thursday’s arraignment. If released on bail, Viprino was also ordered to wear GPS monitoring, surrender his passport and firearms, not to leave the state and to have no contact with and stay at least 200 feet away from the alleged victims.

Welsh was the prosecutor in a separate rape case brought against Viprino in 2002. He offered to recuse himself from Thursday’s arraignment, but lawyers on both sides did not object to his hearing the cases.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Rob Galibois said in a statement Thursday that Harwich police began investigating into allegations of sexual assault involving the first victim in August. The other two victims came forward with their allegations in October and November, according to the statement.

In the first case, the victim, identified in court and in court documents as Victim 1, reported going to Viprino’s home with her boyfriend on Aug. 29, according to court documents. When her boyfriend left, Viprino allegedly showed a gun underneath his shirt and ordered the victim, who at the time was 17, to take off her clothes and lie on a couch in his office before allegedly sexually assaulting her.

“Frightened, the victim did as she was told to do,” Scalice said.

During the assault, Viprino allegedly promised that he would buy the victim “a house, a car and supply her with drugs,” Scalice said.

Viprino, who is married with children, allegedly told the victim’s boyfriend upon his return that the victim should “stay overnight to get to know [Viprino’s] family better,” but that the boyfriend should leave. The victim and her boyfriend left together, after which the victim told her boyfriend about the assault, and said that Viprino had given her two Xanax pills afterward.

Scalice said on Aug. 30, Victim 1 took a SAFE exam at Cape Cod Hospital that tested “positive for male DNA.” Results of a toxicology test also taken Aug. 30 were still pending as of Thursday’s arraignment, she said.

According to the DA’s statement, another victim, identified in court and court documents as Victim 2, was allegedly “threatened and coerced” into having sex with Viprino, both in Viprino’s office and at the victim’s house, this summer over a period of several weeks. It’s also alleged that Victim 2 was forced to sell vape pods to her underage friends for Viprino, and that she was threatened with being forced to perform sexual acts as a punishment “if she did not sell enough pods or if she otherwise got into trouble or fights.”

The third victim, identified as Victim 3, was introduced to Viprino through Victim 2. It’s alleged that Victim 3 was also sexually assaulted by Viprino, who allegedly threatened that the assaults would happen three times a week and told her “if she did not follow the rules, she would be in trouble,” according to the statement from the DA’s office.

In conversation with the victims, Viprino also allegedly insinuated that he was involved in murder and gun running. In an interview with staff at Children’s Cove following her alleged assault, Victim 1 said that Viprino had told her prior that he was a “hitman, and knew a lot of people,” according to Scalice.

In July, he allegedly told Victim 2 that he was the leader of a “gang,” and that he had “recruited her to be in his crew,” Scalice said Thursday.

“Victim 2 stated [in an interview with Harwich police in October] that the defendant had convinced her that he was the leader of a crew and that he was involved in selling guns and transporting guns back and forth from Florida and Massachusetts,” she said. “The defendant also convinced her that he was involved in murdering people and making people disappear.”

Viprino also allegedly threatened to harm the victim’s family if she did not agree to join his “crew,” Scalice said. He also told the victim that she needed to make the “ultimate sacrifice” to join the “crew,” which Scalice said involved sex with Viprino and/or multiple other “crew” members.

On Sept. 25, Harwich police executed a search warrant of Viprino’s garage and office space. While no weapons were found, police uncovered several “high capacity” gun magazines, Scalice said.

Scalice requested that Viprino be held on a total of $150,000 bail, citing him as a “flight risk.” She said that charges against him were pending from the alleged assault on Victim 1 at the time alleged assaults against the other victims occurred, and that Viprino had told one of the victims that he was planning on “disappearing and going AWOL.” Viprino has access to property in Vermont.

Viprino faces a sentence of up to 20 years for each rape charge if convicted, Scalice said.

Viprino is a 1999 graduate of Nauset Regional High School, according to his attorney, Matthew Bober. He said Viprino, a former farmer, is currently unemployed and suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and “seizures,” and that he currently only has $2,000 with which to make bail.

“These allegations, judge, are extremely, extremely serious,” he said. “However, my client vehemently denies that he had unconsented sex with any of these people.”

Bober claimed that there is video evidence and text messages that indicate Viprino is the victim of attempted blackmail. He said no evidence exists tying his client to murder or gun running.

“There’s no corroboration here,” he said. “There’s no physical evidence, judge.”

In addition to the maximum sentences that come with the rape charges if convicted, Welsh added that the firearm charge also carries a minimal 2.5-year sentence.

“The potential penalty is enormous, as are the allegations,” he said before setting bail.

Viprino is due to appear back in court for a probable cause hearing on Dec. 14.

Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchronicle.com