MBTA Cops: Holliston Man Arrested for Lewd Behavior Toward Woman
Eric Howes was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly ejaculating on a woman while riding the Red Line train.
Photos
A Holliston man ejaculated on a 21-year-old Cambridge woman riding the Red Line into Davis Square, according to a report from MBTA Transit Police.
Eric Howes, a Holliston resident according to Metro.us, was a suspect in an earlier lewd and lascivious crime committed on MBTA property, the report says.
According to the report, the woman got on the Red Line train at Alewife Station at about 10:45 a.m. Tuesday and began to read the Boston Metro newspaper.
As the train pulled into Davis Square Station, "the victim noticed what she described as a disgusting smell and something wet on her jacket, and [she] also noticed a male party next to her with his hands down his pants," the report says.
The woman initially accused the man of urinating on her, and he said, "no no" while zipping his pants up, the report says.
At this point, "the victim reached down to her left side and felt a wet substance on her jacket. She looked at her hand and described the substance as something that looked like [semen]," according to the report.
She wiped her hand with the newspaper as the train pulled into Davis Square and the doors opened and the man got off the train, the report says. The woman tried to follow, but the doors closed.
According to the report, the woman rode the train to Porter Square, where she exited and contacted Transit Police.
Transit Police pulled up surveillance video, and the victim made a positive identification of the man, the report says. Detectives recognized the suspect as 26-year-old Eric Howes.
Detectives knew Howes often spent time at a homeless shelter in Boston, and they eventually found him at the Woods Mullen Shelter, near Boston Medical Center in Boston.
Howes voluntarily provided a DNA sample to detectives and admitted to the crime, according to the report.
He was arrested and charged with indecent assault and battery.
Editor's Note: Howes wrote articles and took photos for Patch as an independent contractor. The last article he wrote for Patch was published nearly a year ago. We wanted to do due diligence in confirming the arrested party and the former Patch contractor were one and the same before including that information in our story.
Mike Wood
1:35 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
You know this guy is a writer for your own paper. Forget to mention that in the piece?
Synagogue
3:05 pm on Thursday, April 26, 2012
Howes was a freelance writer for Holliston Patch. His most recent article was posted on May 9, 2011.
Julie Damigella
1:45 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Now I know why I recognized his photo. Not a comforting thought that he has represented Patch covering some of the events around town.
Pat Gipps
1:53 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Ok when will he be taken off the streets! Come on he has been around Holliston for sometime now ( and the Police know him) exposing himself to others at the different playgrounds and parks.
Keith Wilson
2:25 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
If the glove don't fit you must acquit. I would want to make sure it was semen.
We all know there are all types of lubes and stuff on the Red Line. Maybe it just "rubbed" off
mark hannah
2:36 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Clearly Eric misquoted the worst Christmas gift.
http://holliston.patch.com/articles/the-best-and-worst-christmas-gifts-in-2010
HollistonGuy
3:07 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Funny how he highlights the "ITouch" in his article
Kate Gray
3:28 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Just wondering why the article doesn't mention Eric's involvement with the Holliston Patch....like how he has covered our towns events??? Didn't think that was important enough to mention??
Vanzetta Evans
3:57 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
This makes me just oh so proud to be from Holliston. And I lived in Boston and rode the Red Line for a while. Makes me wonder what I may have gotten on my own clothes. :-P
Dr. Brett M. Rhyne
11:36 pm on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Can't fault Patch for hiring the guy; who knows what people do in their spare time? But to not mention Howes wrote for Patch? That's opacity in journalism = bad journalism.
Justin Saglio
12:53 am on Thursday, April 26, 2012
Hey everyone, thanks for reading, and thanks for commenting.
First, regarding Eric's status as a Patch contributor: the Editor's note at the bottom of the article (added around 8:30 p.m. Thursday night) is the best explanation I can provide for why he was not listed as a contributor in the original post.
If any of his pieces have been pulled for legal reasons, it was not the doing of anyone at Holliston Patch, and this would be the first I am hearing of it.
Thanks again everyone, your feedback is well appreciated, and certainly adds to the value of our site.
Peggy Robertson
1:58 pm on Saturday, June 9, 2012
So sorry to read this news item. Awful for the young woman. I just want to say that I believe Eric has had increasingly difficult mental problems in recent years, despite the care and concern of a loving, devoted family. I think his may very well turn out to be another life changed by the effects of a head injury, in his case caused by an accident a number of years ago. So, as nasty as the behavior was, please, a little compassion before jumping to judgments. And for the Patch, I was at an event that Eric covered for the Patch over a year ago, and he did it appropriately and well.