BOSTON, August 9, 2024 – A 56-year-old Boston man is being held without bail for 90 days after being charged with exposing himself on an MBTA Blue Line platform this week, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
FRANCIS COSTA JR., 56, was charged with open and gross lewdness (subsequent offense) and disorderly conduct.
Judge Christopher Henry set bail at $3,000 and revoked Costa’s bail on a pending case out of East Boston BMC involving vandalizing property and assault charges.
Costa will return to court on October 8 for a pre-trial hearing.
On August 6, MBTA Transit police received a report about an open and gross lewdness act that occurred in the Blue Line Beachmont station. The victim told officers she was waiting for the train on the inbound platform around 6:45 a.m. when she observed a man on the outbound platform, in his fifties, wearing a dark blue polo shirt, blue jeans, and black sneakers with his penis exposed and openly masturbating.
After reviewing video surveillance from the MBTA station, officers located and stopped a male, later identified as Costa, several hours later matching the victim’s description and the individual depicted in the video footage.
Officers asked Costa if he was at either the Beachmont or Maverick station earlier that morning and if he had done anything to draw attention to himself. Costa told officers he was at both stations and urinated on the platforms.
Officers placed Costa under arrest without incident.
Costa has a 10-page board of probation record including convictions on indecent exposure and several open and gross charges.
“I am very sorry for what this woman witnessed, but I am very happy that she acted quickly and called police and I’m also happy that Transit and Boston police worked so effectively to bring the suspect into custody. An incident like this is intolerable at any time but the fact that it happened at peak commuting time makes it all the more egregious,” Hayden said.
Maureen Dahill is the editor of Caught in Southie and a lifelong resident of South Boston sometimes mistaken for a yuppie. Co-host of Caught Up, storyteller, lover of red wine and binge watching TV series. Mrs. Peter G. Follow her @MaureenCaught.
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