Former MA Gov's Brother-In-Law Indicted For Rape, Kidnapping

MILTON, MA – The brother-in-law of former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick was indicted by a Norfolk grand jury Wednesday for an alleged sexual assault in December. Bernard Sigh, 65, of Milton, is charged with kidnapping, witness intimidation, two counts of rape and three counts of assault and battery.

He is currently being held without bail after he allegedly violated the no-contact provisions of his initial bail, the Norfolk District Attorney's office said.

According to court documents, a woman allegedly found Sigh in his underwear in a closet Dec. 9. The documents say Sigh forced her back into the apartment when she tried to run and allegedly gave her three options, all of which forced her into having sex with him. The woman was able to leave the apartment and was checked at the hospital the next morning, according to the documents.

Sigh allegedly described the encounter to police as "intercourse" but admitted to grabbing the woman when she tried to run, the documents say.

The Boston Globe reported that Sigh served jail time after pleading guilty to spousal rape in California in 1993. That led to a 2014 lawsuit in which Saundra Edwards, a former chairwoman of the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board, claimed she was unfairly terminated by Patrick.

The former governor reportedly said Edwards and other officials tried to improperly force his brother-in-law to register as a sex offender when a court had ruled he did not have to.

Feroze Dhanoa (Patch National Staff) contributed to this report.

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