Bond Reduced In Manchester/Vernon Serial Rape Case

VERNON/MANCHESTER, CT — The initial $5 million bond placed on a Manchester firefighter facing multiple sexual assault charges in a serial rape case was reduced at his arraignment Friday. He remained in custody Monday on a $1 million bond and is due back in court on July 10, judicial system records show.

The case involves violent break-ins and sexual assaults in Vernon and Manchester that date back to the early 2000s. On Wednesday, police arrested 47-year-old Angelo Alleano Jr., whose listed address is on Gerald Drive in Vernon. Alleano was charged under a "John Doe" warrant, signed in 2010. Police have identified Alleano as a Manchester firefighter.

There are four cases cited in the warrant involving sexual assaults after home invasions:

• A 2001 attack involving an 84-year-old woman in Manchester
• A 2004 attack involving a 57-year-old woman in Manchester
• A 2007 attack involving a 37-year-old woman in Manchester
• A 2008 attack involving a 61-year-old woman in Vernon

According to the warrant, between 2001 and 2008, Manchester and Vernon police investigated a series of residential burglaries during which man invading the homes sexually assaulted women. Police had believed the four reported attacks were related and committed by the same person, the warrant said. Because the identity of the suspect was unknown, police applied for a "John Doe" warrant that was signed in 2010. The warrant identified the suspect based on forensic evidence left at the scenes, police said.

New genealogy technology was a key in pinning Alleano to the case, police said. Over the years, the areas near the crimes were canvassed, complete with consensual DNA samples, police said. Other leads led to other samples, police said.

Kristin Sasinouski, the deputy director of the Forensic Biology and DNA Division of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said at a news conferecne announcing the arrest that a "family tree" was then set up in an effort to narrow down a list of suspects. A grant of more than $1 million was used to set up the system, she said.

The charges against Alleano include four counts of first-degree sexual assault and three counts of second-degree burglary. Police said Alleano was arrested after he came to the Vernon Police Department on Wednesday morning as part of an investigation into an unrelated domestic violence offense. He was arrested in that case and charged with disorderly conduct, which initially carried a separate $100,000 bond, but is now $500.

Police said a warrant was waiting for Alleano for a DNA sample in the rape case when he surrendered in the domestic case.

Click here for more details on the cases.