The case against alleged 'serial rapist' Alvin Campbell

Alvin Campbell, an alleged serial rapist, was arrested in 2020 on sexual assault charges. A new investigation by WBUR finds that at the time of his arrest, Campbell had already been reported for multiple allegations of rape and sexual assault dating back to 2016.

He is the brother of Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell. Her office said the attorney general recused herself from any involvement in the case. In a statement, Andrea Campbell said the prosecution has her “unreserved support.”

For the past year and a half, WBUR reporter Walter Wuthmann has been investigating the case against Alvin Campbell, and why he was not arrested earlier as allegations and DNA evidence against him surfaced.

Wuthmann joins The Common to discuss how the culture of our criminal justice system and Massachusetts' secrecy laws obscure cases of sexual assault from the public in ways that often ends up protecting perpetrators instead of victims.