Jury convicts Mattapan Lyft driver on 2019 rape charge

BOSTON, September 21, 2022 — A Suffolk County jury today found a Mattapan Lyft driver guilty in the July 2019 rape of a female passenger he picked up in Boston, District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

After deliberating for about two hours, the jury found JOSEPH PIARD, 26, guilty of rape and not guilty of indecent assault and battery.  Piard will be sentenced on October 19. 

Assistant District Attorney Erin Murphy told the jury that Piard, who had two other rideshare passengers in his vehicle, picked up the victim in front of the victim’s friend’s apartment at about 1:45 a.m. on July 31, 2019.  The victim requested to be driven to her Beacon Street apartment.  When Piard drove the victim to the address, she noticed it was wrong and returned to Piard’s car.  She then fell asleep in the back seat as Piard drove the other riders to their destinations.

The next memory the victim had was waking up around 7 a.m. in an unknown area. Piard told her she had fallen asleep, and he waited until she woke up.  He assured her nothing had happened.  Piard then drove the victim home.  The victim felt that something had happened to her.  After speaking to a family member she decided to go to the hospital.  She underwent a sexual assault examination and met with detectives.  

The detectives also spoke to Piard.  He denied anything happened other than the victim sleeping in his backseat.  He also agreed to provide a DNA sample.  A few weeks later the results came back and matched Piard’s DNA.  Piard then admitted to indecently touching the victim's body, digitally penetrating her vagina, and having sexual intercourse with the victim while she lay unconscious in the backseat of his vehicle.

“This is a disturbing case and one that would likely have never been brought forward if this survivor didn’t have the presence of mind to speak to a family member and to realize she had been victimized,” Hayden said.

James Borghesani, Chief of Communications