Convicted sex offender released by bail re-arrested for rape in Boston

A registered sex offender in Massachusetts who was freed on bail for raping a woman in 2018 is now facing new charges after allegedly raping and kidnapping a woman as she tried to leave his home, police reports said.

The perpetrator, Shawn McClinton, 39, allegedly forced a woman at knife point to perform oral sex on him. He was then arrested on a Quincy street on the charges of aggravated rape, armed kidnapping with sexual assault and related counts. 

The Level 3 sex offender was freed in Suffolk Superior court for a 2018 case. He had been released from jail three weeks prior to this incident for a similar rape case where he strangled and forced the woman to perform oral sex.

“Do you know what I could do to you?” McClinton told the woman, according to a police report.

For a repeated sex offender who was convicted of rape in 1994 and 2007, the Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said he was “absolutely appalled” that McClinton would be granted bail in the first knowing his very violent history.

“We’re getting to a point in society where we’re giving more credence to criminals than victims,” Gross told the newspaper. “We’re talking about violent offenders. Why would you bail someone who committed rapes?”

According to the Boston Globe, McClinton’s bail which was $15,000 was paid off by the Massachusetts Bail Fund which has now come under great scrutiny by the Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins.

“The Bail Fund posted $15,000 and set McClinton loose on our community,” Rollins said. “They have no responsibility to or compassion for the victims and survivors of his crimes, or the families that he destroyed. I do.”

The group’s website reads, “The Massachusetts Bail Fund pays up to $2000 bail so that low-income people can stay free while they work towards resolving their case, allowing individuals, families, and communities to stay productive, together, and stable.” 

For the recent crime he is being accused of, a judge ordered that McClinton be held without bail last Thursday.

“I find probable cause that Mr. McClinton committed a new violent offense, while on release for a violent offense,” Dorchester District Court Judge Lisa Grant said. “I find there are no conditions that would ensure the safety of the community, particularly females.”

The newspaper further reported that the judge ordered that he be held without bail for 60 days after which his bail will be set at a whopping $500,000 with a caveat that he wears a mandatory GPS monitor if he is freed.

Meanwhile, his lawyer had argued that his initial bail of $15,000 be restored because he is not being accused of forcible rape and McClinton even denies some of the accusations. He is due back in court on September 4, 2020.