Bail revoked for Boston man charged with exposing himself at Beachmont station
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.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communcations