Areas of West Boylston where men are
meeting other men
By Jean Laquidara
Hill TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WEST BOYLSTON— Police are alerting walkers and
bicyclists along
Greenways section
of the Mass Central Rail Trail that runs parallel to
Police said walkers and cyclists
should call police immediately if they see or suspect behavior that is
inappropriate for public viewing. Anyone in the
area should also call police if they encounter anything that
makes them uncomfortable, Detective James
J. Dugan said yesterday. He said police patrol the trail and roadoften, including relatively new bicycle patrols in
conjunction with Holden police.
Detective Dugan said yesterday he was
issuing an alert because police encountered a man while on a routine patrol
along Wachusett Reservoir on the rail trail and
He said West Boylston Officer Matt
Saunders and Holden Police Officer Anthony Gribbons
were patrolling theroad and trail on bicycles at 2:30
p.m.when they saw a man in a car on the side of the
road.
Police said the man, who lives in
police approached him. After a long
discussion with police, the man allegedly said he was in the area
looking for a date because he was aware of
the area’s popularity as a meeting place for men interested in
other men.
“This is usually a daytime activity,”
Detective Dugan said about men meeting for sex on
rail trail.
According to a Police Department
press release, the man told police he was “touching himself.”
Detective Dugan said no one reported
seeing the man , so his behavior did not constitute
lewd behavior under the law, and that he will be summoned to Clinton District
Court on a charge of disorderly conduct.
Detective Dugan said
meet for sexual activity over the past
few years.
He said the bicycle patrols initiated
over the past few months were started to protect people from all kinds of
unwanted behavior, including violence, not
only to shield them from seeing sexual activity.
He said police receive complaints
regularly about male sexual activity on the trail and
about other sexual conduct.
“That’s all we’ve received complaints
on, is men on men,” Detective Dugan said yesterday.
“We’ve had several incidents in the
past,” he said, adding those mostly involved reports of men exposing
themselves.
He said he arrested a man during a
plainclothes detail on
assaulted him.
The message to the public, Detective
Dugan said, is “Basically when they’re down there they need to be
cautious and carry a cell phone or other
means of communication from a safety standpoint any time they’re
walking alone.”
He said police are often nearby. “We
have bicycles, ATVs, guys are on foot, so we’re actively patrolling,” he
said.
By Jean Laquidara