IRS Agent Allegedly Raped, Choked 21-Year-Old Summer Intern After Taking Her Out for Drinks
March 8, 2018On Wednesday, felony charges were filed in Massachusetts against James Clarke, a 44-year-old investigator for the Internal Revenue Service accused of raping and choking a 21-year-old college student who interned in his office last summer.
A statement from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office obtained by PEOPLE confirms the charges against Clarke, an IRS agent who handles criminal investigations in Boston.
Clarke’s employment status with the IRS was unclear Thursday, but the Boston Globe reports he was allowed to remain in his position for months after the alleged attack in July.
A call for comment to the IRS was not returned Thursday.
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Clarke is charged with aggravated rape, rape, indecent assault and battery, strangulation, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon “for an incident on the evening of July 26, 2017,” the statement alleges.
It was at the time that “Clarke allegedly invited the victim for drinks after work and then offered to drive her to South Station to catch a train,” the statement says.
“The indictments allege that Clarke handcuffed the 21-year-old victim while parked in his IRS-owned vehicle in the Government Center garage, assaulted her with his service firearm, and subjected her to sexual acts against her will,” the statement says.
“One additional assaultive act occurred in the car outside South Station after Clarke had driven the victim there,” the statement alleges. “She called police immediately afterward and was treated at a hospital.”
According to audio obtained by the Globe, dispatchers at the time informed responding officers that the alleged victim had called 911 and said that Clarke had allegedly placed his government-issued handgun in her mouth during the violent attack.
“Caller is a female, says he put a gun in her mouth and sexually assaulted her,” the 911 dispatcher broadcasted just after 10:30 p.m., directing officers to train station.
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The Globe first reported on the alleged assault in November.
The alleged victim was an unpaid intern for the criminal investigations office in Boston.
Michael Doolin, the lawyer representing Clarke, could not be reached for comment by PEOPLE, but told the Globe his client “adamantly denies these allegations.”
Attempts to reach Clarke at home were unsuccessful Thursday.
Clarke has yet to enter a plea to the charges in the indictment, but will be asked to do so when he appears before a judgement for his arraignment on April 5.