Peabody Serial Rapist Freed After Death Of Victim

PEABODY, MA -- A Peabody man who had been held in jail without bail since last Fall while awaiting trial on his most recent charge for a sex crime was released this week. Mark B. Papamechail, 55, of Peabody, was released following the death of the victim in that case, a woman who told police Papamechail sexually assaulted her after she went back to his apartment during a date.

Papamechail is a registered, Level 3 sex offender with a long rap sheet of sex crime convictions. Following a dangerousness hearing in November, a judge ordered Papamechail held without bail. Prosecutors told a Salem Superior Court judge Thursday that they could not move forward with the case following the woman's death.

Peabody Police were called to Stevens Street in October, where they found Papamechail and a woman outside of the home. The woman told police Papamechail had woken her up demanding sex. When she refused, he threw her against a wall and yelled "I am going to have you one way or another." The woman was able to break free and call police.

The woman told police she and Papamechail had gone on several dates and after dinner on the evening of Oct. 28 they returned to his home. There, she told him she did not want to have sex with him that night and fell asleep. In court documents, police said Papamechail told them he and the woman had been in an off-and-on sexual relationship since late last year. He denied assaulting the woman, claiming she woke up suddenly and started screaming that he was a sex offender and a rapist.

In 1986 and 1994, Papamechail was convicted on charges of indecent assault and battery on a person aged 14 or older. In 1991 and 1997, he was convicted on rape charges. Last year a Salem Superior Court jury found him not guilty on charges of aggravated rape stemming from a 2014 incident when a woman said he sexually assaulted her after the two went to his apartment following a lunch date.

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Photo by Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).