Updated Sept. 10, 4:55 pm.
Massachusetts State Police said they are cooperating with a local investigation into a reported sexual assault by suspects who allegedly stayed a night at the state department’s Oak Bluffs barracks when the incident occurred late last month.
The two individuals involved in the incident remain unnamed, and State Police said the two aren’t affiliated with the department.
According to State Police, an individual alleged that they were assaulted by someone who was visiting a trooper assigned to the Island for the summer. The department has opened an internal affairs investigation that will follow the results of the criminal process.
“At the end of August, the Massachusetts State Police became aware of a reported sexual assault involving two people not affiliated with the Department,” a State Police spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday. “We are fully cooperating with the local police’s investigation into the matter and remain committed to pursuing justice in every sexual assault case. To protect the integrity of the investigation, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle confirmed in a Thursday afternoon statement that the town department launched an investigation. Searle said his department “responded to a report involving a woman in distress and immediately initiated an investigation.”
“Through the course of the investigation, officers determined that the matter involved an alleged sexual assault and developed information indicating that the alleged assault occurred at the Massachusetts State Police barracks in Oak Bluffs,” the statement shared with The Times reads.
Searle clarified that the investigation by Oak Bluffs Police is independent from the Massachusetts State Police’s internal investigation.
“The Oak Bluffs Police Department is a separate and independent law enforcement agency from the Massachusetts State Police and, from the beginning, has conducted this investigation independently and in accordance with the Department’s established policies and procedures,” Searle said in the statement.
The Oak Bluffs Police received a warrant for the investigation, including a warrant executed at the State Police barracks.
“The Massachusetts State Police General Headquarters has cooperated with matters related to the investigation. The Department also has been in communication with the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office regarding the investigation and findings,” Searle said in the statement.
“The Oak Bluffs Police Department takes allegations of sexual assault extremely seriously. Our investigators have followed the facts and evidence in this case, and we will continue to conduct this investigation thoroughly and independently.”
State law around sexual assault investigations prohibit what the department can disclose in order to protect the parties involved as well as the integrity of the investigation and criminal process.
Departments involved in the case, including the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office, declined to comment further as investigations are ongoing.
No charges have been announced in the case.
This is a developing story.
Editor’s note: This article was updated with statements released by the Oak Bluffs Police.
Release his name.