Weymouth Rape Suspect's Flight 'Mistake,' Chief Justice Says

WEYMOUTH, MA – The release of an Uber driver accused of raping a Weymouth woman was a "mistake" and is not indicative of a larger problem in Quincy District Court, according to the chief justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. Chief Justice Ralph Gants told the Patriot Ledger 30-year-old Frederick Amfo was released without being forced to turn over his passport because of "confusion" in the clerk's office about protocol.

Amfo, a Ghana native living in Quincy, is believed to have fled back to his home country. Police say Amfo was driving the woman from Quincy to Weymouth earlier this month when he stopped the car a good distance away from her destination, got in the back seat, and raped her. He was arrested April 8 and arraigned later that week.

Gants told the Ledger it is believed an employee in the clerk's office confused regulations for people released on personal recognizance with those for people released on bail who must surrender their passports.

The victim, who asked to be identified by the Patriot Ledger, has requested a formal investigation into the bail process.

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