Dangerousness Hearing Held For Western Mass. Serial Rapist

Loyal Berkshire County readers, you may recall a post we published recently regarding the capture and arrest of alleged serial rapist Ali Ghaffar. He is the man thought to be responsible for at least six violent sexual assaults on women in the West Springfield/Springfield area.

Ghaffar, of West Springfield, was arrested on March 31st in West Springfield in the area of the Bear Hole Reservoir. The reservoir is the same area where Ghaffar allegedly assaulted six women at gunpoint.

At the moment of his arrest, Ghaffar had another victim in his car. He was identified by two of his victims. He's been held under lock and key while awaiting his dangerousness hearing.

Last Thursday, April 21, 2022, Ghaffar had his "day in court"(well, at least his first day in court), and surprise, surprise. After his dangerousness hearing, Ghaffar was found to be a "danger" to the community. He will be held in custody for at least another 4 months.

According to WWLP/22 News Springfield, Ghaffar has been charged on the following counts:

• Aggravated Rape(4 counts)
• Kidnapping(4 counts)
• Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon(3 counts)
• Threat to Commit a Crime(5 counts)
• Assault with Intent to Rape
• Armed Kidnapping with Sexual Assault
• Rape(2 counts)

At Ghaffar's dangerousness hearing Thursday, he pleaded not guilty to all charges. For the record, according to the prosecuting attorneys, all the victims were able to identify Ghaffar out of an array of photos. Plus, Ghaffar's DNA was linked to all the crimes.

The next scheduled court appearance for Ghaffar is coming up later next month. For more on the story, check out WWLP's website here.