A resident of a Massachusetts migrant shelter is facing serious charges after allegedly raping and impregnating his teenage daughter. The individual, whose identity is being withheld to protect the victim, reportedly committed the assaults both during their journey to the United States and after arriving in the country. He was residing at a shelter operated by Eliot Community Human Services in Marlborough, Massachusetts, part of the state's network of government-funded shelters housed in hotels.

The Marlborough Police Department made the arrest last week following reports submitted by shelter staff in May 2024. According to reports, the teenager disclosed the pregnancy via text messages, indicating that her father was responsible and that he had sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. The man was arraigned in Marlborough District Court on Monday on a charge of aggravated rape of a child and is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing.

This incident follows previous allegations of violence and sexual assault within Massachusetts migrant shelters. Former shelter director Jon Fetherson has spoken publicly about what he describes as widespread incidents of such nature. The state's "right to shelter" laws, which mandate providing housing to immigrants lacking alternative accommodations, and its "sanctuary" status, which limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities, have come under scrutiny in light of these events.

In a separate incident earlier this year, a Dominican national was apprehended at a state-funded hotel room with an AR-15 and an estimated $1 million worth of fentanyl. Following these incidents, Governor Maura Healey has expressed concern and advocated for legislative changes to the shelter system's regulations regarding illegal immigrants.