Man charged with rapes in 2004 in Roslindale, Mission Hill; hunt on for second suspect

A Dorchester man was charged yesterday with the kidnapping and rape of two women six years ago, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office and Boston Police report, adding they are continuing to look for a second man who allegedly participated in the attacks.

DNA collected from the victims matched Anwar Thomas's genetic samples last year, and investigators began looking into his connection with what were unsolved cases up to that point, the DA's office says.

According to prosecutors, Thomas and his accomplice abducted a 23-year-old woman walking on Washington Street near Arboretum Road in Roslindale around 9:45 p.m. on Sept. 21, 2004. They allegedly forced her into their car, beat her with a handgun, then drove her to an unidentified backyard and raped her. They released her in Franklin Park, the DA's office says.

Around 11:20 p.m. on Sept. 29, the two forced a 19-year-old woman into their car on Parker Street near Hillside Street, drove her to a wooded area near Franklin Park and raped her. They then released her.

Thomas, already serving an unrelated sentence in the Middlesex County jail, faces eight counts of rape, two counts of kidnapping and other charges, the DA's office says.

Innocent, etc.