St. Vlad's professor charged with witness intimidation

BOSTON, MA (Patch) – A man whose son raped, choked and robbed a woman in her Fenway apartment in 2015 will face a charge of his own after an alleged confrontation with the victim in court this week. Joseph Purpura, an Orthodox priest who the Boston Herald identified as an associate professor at a New York seminary (St. Vlad's lists him as being on administrative leave), will be arraigned Jan. 19 on a witness intimidation charge. His son, 38-year-old Michael Purpura, of Westwood, was sentenced to 15-18 years in prison Wednesday.

The woman the younger Purpura was convicted of raping appeared at his sentencing to deliver a message of support to other survivors of sexual assault. She told the court:

"It has taken me over two years to understand and realize that I am allowed to walk home by myself on a Monday night. Everyone is allowed to go on a date, to walk home, to buy groceries, and to talk on the phone...for a while I felt like this was my fault, but that isn't the case. I didn't choose this. Everyone makes their own choices, and Michael Purpura's choices were not my own, and I'm finally accepting that his choices were not my fault.
I don't regret coming forward as I hope it will bring me closure and, more importantly, I hope this will prevent other people from being treated the way that I was treated on the 15th of September, 2015, because, honestly, no one deserves that. I hope this has helped others, and I hope that people know they are not alone. You'd be surprised about who is here to support you, myself included. I want to end this statement by thanking the ADAs, victim witness advocate, judge, and jury. You have helped shed a small amount of light and hope on the worst thing that has ever happened to me, and I am forever grateful."

Michael Purpura was found guilty in December of aggravated rape, indecent assault and battery, strangulation or suffocation, unarmed burglary and larceny over $250. Prosecutors said Purpura followed a woman in her 20s home from Star Market on Kilmarnock Street on the night of Sept. 14, 2015 and "ambushed" her as she stepped into her apartment.

He assaulted her into the following morning, forced her to shower and stole her phone, according to the DA.

Purpura turned himself in to police five days later after investigators used customer records and surveillance video from Star Market to obtain a warrant for his arrest. A DNA sample from Purpura was then linked to evidence from the sexual assault.

"The evidence here was chilling," Conley said after Purpura was found guilty. "The attack was terrifying and the community is safer with the perpetrator behind bars. I'd like to commend the prosecutors and police detectives who built the case step by step, from witnesses to video footage to DNA, but we would never have reached this point without the survivor, whose testimony was so critical to this verdict."

Jurors deliberated for about a day before convicting him of all charges, the Suffolk DA said.