Matthew Nilo Court Hearing: Legal Battle Over DNA Evidence

Matthew Nilo, a New Jersey attorney facing accusations of sexual assault against several women in Boston more than 17 years ago, appeared in court as his defense sought to suppress key DNA evidence. The evidence was collected during a covert operation by the FBI at a Manhattan restaurant.

Nilo attended the Suffolk Superior Court hearing alongside his fiancée, Laura Griffin, who has been a constant presence at his hearings. Prosecutors assert that the DNA links Nilo to assaults in Boston that occurred in 2007 and 2008, during which he was 19 or 20 years old.

The defense claims that the evidence should be excluded because it was gathered without a warrant. FBI agents obtained the DNA by following Nilo from his New Jersey residence to a restaurant, coordinating with staff to collect items he used, such as drinking glasses, a fork, and a napkin.

Nilo’s defense argues that he did not willingly abandon these items, thus maintaining a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Prosecutors, however, maintain that once the items were left behind and cleared by staff in the normal course of business, Nilo had relinquished any expectation of privacy.

FBI Boston Special Agent Joe Bonavolonta emphasized that Nilo’s arrest resulted from “investigative genetic genealogy,” a strategy used to develop leads in unsolved criminal cases. Prosecutors noted that they matched a DNA profile on three rape victims to a profile of one of Nilo’s relatives from a public genetic genealogy database, later linking it to Nilo through a sample collected at a corporate event.

Nilo, who remains free on bail, was originally charged in May 2023 with multiple offenses, including three counts of aggravated rape. Later, a Suffolk County grand jury indicted him with additional charges, including rape and indecent assault.