Rape Charges Against Former Hockey Player Dismissed

Max Nicastro’s BU status unaffected by decision

| From BU Today | By Rich Barlow

Rape charges against Max Nicastro, pictured here in Brighton District Court on June 1, have been dropped.
Photo by Ted Fitzgerald, courtesy of the Boston Herald

A Brighton District Court judge on June 1 dismissed rape charges against former BU hockey defenseman Max Nicastro.

First Justice David Donnelly’s action followed notice from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office that it was ending its prosecution of the case.

“Based on a review of the evidence, we made the decision that we did not have a good-faith basis that we could prove the charges beyond a reasonable [doubt],” Holly Broadbent, chief of the DA’s sexual assault unit, said in an interview after the hearing. She declined to elaborate. The Boston Globe reported that in its court document dropping the case, the DA’s office announced it was doing so while the alleged victim stood by her allegations.

Nicastro (CGS’11, MET’13) had pleaded not guilty to charges that he assaulted a female student February 19. At an earlier hearing, his lawyer, Hugh Curran, had told the court that “when all the facts are out, it will be found it was not a criminal act.”

“I feel relieved,” Nicastro told reporters after the hearing. “It’s been a hard road….My friends and family have been with me the whole time.”

After the arrest, BU announced that Nicastro had been suspended from the hockey team and was no longer enrolled. On Friday, the Dean of Students Office released a statement saying, “Mr. Nicastro is no longer a student at Boston University, and today’s decision by the district attorney does not change that.”

Broadbent told the Boston Herald that in sexual assault cases generally, any number of possible roadblocks may hinder prosecution, including an alleged victim’s reluctance to proceed in court, inconsistent statements from witnesses, and alcohol or drug use.

The Thousand Oaks, Calif., resident was one of two former BU hockey players facing sexual assault charges. The other, Corey Trivino (MET’12), was arrested in December for allegedly groping and kissing a BU student against her will in her dorm room. He has pleaded not guilty. The most serious charge against him, assault with intent to commit rape, was dropped in March for lack of evidence. Trivino also is not enrolled at the University. He is expected back in court on June 20.

The charges against the two men led President Robert A. Brown to name a task force to investigate the culture of the men’s hockey team. The task force is to report this summer.

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