Lawrence Police Officer Charged With Raping 13-Year-Old Boy He Met On Dating App

A Lawrence police officer has been charged with raping a 13-year-old boy he met on the dating app, Grindr.

The Essex district attorney said Carlos Vieira was charged Monday with two counts of aggravated rape of a child and two counts of indecent assault and battery of a child under 14.

The 49-year-old Vieira was arraigned Tuesday and held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday, the Essex district attorney's office said in a statement.

Officials began investigating in January when the boy's mother contacted authorities. The mother alleged her son met Vieira online in the summer of 2018 and engaged in sexual activity with him.

According to the DA's statement, Vieira and the boy "met at Mt. Vernon Park and engaged in sexual acts on one occasion last summer. When the boy and his family were evacuated following the gas explosions on [Sept. 13], he recognized the police officer directing traffic at the intersection on Mt. Vernon and Beacon Streets as the man he met at the park."

Lawrence Police Chief Roy Vasque said Vieira has been placed on administrative leave.

With reporting from The Associated Press and WBUR's Lisa Creamer