Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni is sharply criticizing a court’s decision to release Mihail Lujan, a Moldovan national facing new rape charges despite a previous conviction for sexually assaulting a nursing home patient, bostonherald.com reported. Lujan, 40, of West Springfield, was ordered held on $5,000 bail by Judge Bethzaida Sanabria-Vega, a bench appointment made by then-Gov. Deval Patrick in 2010.
Gulluni called the court’s refusal to grant his office’s detention request deeply disturbing. He argued that the decision fails to prioritize public safety and the rights of victims. Prosecutors presented 18 exhibits during an Oct. 6 dangerousness hearing to demonstrate that Lujan’s release posed an unacceptable risk to the community, while the defense submitted no exhibits.
Overturned Conviction and Subsequent Charges
Lujan’s legal troubles stretch back to a 2013 assault at a West Springfield nursing home, where he worked as part of a contracted cleaning crew. He was convicted and sentenced in April 2023 to 10 to 12 years in state prison for raping an elderly, non-mobile, and non-verbal patient suffering from dementia. At the time of that initial crime, investigators learned Lujan had recently emigrated to the United States.
However, the state Supreme Judicial Court overturned Lujan’s conviction last December. The high court ruled that admitting testimony from substitute forensic analysts violated his constitutional right to confrontation. That ruling allowed Lujan to post bail and walk free months before fresh allegations emerged.
The Hampden County District Attorney’s office filed motions for pretrial detention and bail revocation after Lujan was accused of raping and kidnapping a homeless woman on July 16 inside a room at the River Inn Motel in West Springfield. Federal immigration authorities had previously anticipated taking Lujan into custody for deportation proceedings once he finished serving his initial 10- to 12-year prison sentence.
Contrasting Arguments in the Courtroom
Gulluni emphasized the broader implications of the court’s stance. “The consequences of decisions like this extend far beyond the courtroom,” Gulluni said in a statement. “Victims of sexual violence deserve to know that when they have the courage to come forward, their safety and the safety of others will be treated with the utmost seriousness.”
Defense attorney Peter Alexander Slepchuk offered a starkly different view of the evidence, telling the Springfield Republican that the court thoroughly reviewed the 18 exhibits, which included police reports, an affidavit from the alleged victim, and recorded interviews of both the complainant and her boyfriend. “The complainant’s allegations against Mr. Lujan are simply not credible, plain and simple, and the court’s decision reflects that,” Slepchuk said.
While acknowledging judicial independence, Gulluni maintained that transparency is vital when public safety concerns arise. Lujan’s new criminal charges remain pending in the legal system.
