Manhunt: Suspect Allegedly Drugged, Raped Daughter's Pals
By Dave Wedge
Originally published in The Boston Herald, May 31, 2001
NORTHBRIDGE — A retired Marine who allegedly slipped "date rape" drugs to his teen daughter's slumber party pals and filmed himself raping the girls has been on the lam since his daughter turned over tapes of the disturbing attacks, police said.
"He gave them some kind of drug that would knock them unconscious and he would rape and sexually abuse them while he videotaped," Northbridge Police Chief Thomas Melia said of 48-year-old Peter Gagnon. "The victims did not know what happened to them."
Gagnon, a cab driver for a Grafton company, allegedly repeatedly raped six different girls, ages 10 to 14, over the past six months. He fled May 19—the day his 14-year-old daughter went to police with a gray metal strongbox containing nine tapes of the alleged sex crimes, court papers show. Police wouldn't say if his daughter is one of the victims.
Gagnon was questioned in Mississippi for similar allegations and was still on the loose last night. Bay State investigators sent out a nationwide broadcast with Gagnon's picture and were working with the FBI, as well as authorities in Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina and New Jersey—all states where he has family and friends.
"These were very offensive types of acts," said Melia, who viewed the tapes. "These girls were all friends with Mr. Gagnon's daughter. Sometime prior to the acts, they were drugged."
Melia said the tapes depict Gagnon, in plain view of the camera, having sex with the clearly unconscious girls. Police are unsure exactly what type of drugs the girls were given but suspect they were one of the so-called "date rape" drugs.
Since the allegations surfaced, the victims have undergone medical exams and viewed the tapes to identify Gagnon, Melia said.
Gagnon was tipped off that the tapes were being turned over, and he fled before police had a chance to nab him. He is believed to have sped from his Northbridge condo in a blue 1995 Ford Taurus with a Massachusetts livery plate, number LV33097. He also has a gold Ford Taurus, neighbors said.
Melia hesitated to call Gagnon "dangerous" but pointed out that he has extensive Marine training and warned that "people in flight often do crazy things."
Last week, police searched his condo, which he shared with his daughter, and seized a Panasonic camcorder, a Nikon camera, film, two videotapes, a computer and disks, court papers show. Melia said it's unknown if any of the tapes were broadcast on the Internet or if Gagnon may have been showing or selling them.
He faces 38 charges, including 20 counts of rape, 14 counts of rape of a child under 14 and four counts of rape of a child 14 or over.
Gagnon retired from the Marine Corps in 1993 after 22 years of service, according to Capt. Mike Neumann, a spokesman for Marine Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was a Gunnery Sergeant when he left active duty in 1993 and was last stationed at Marine Corp Air Station in Beaufort, S.C. He was also a former military policeman, Melia said.
In 1998 while living in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Gagnon was a suspect but never charged in an indecent exposure incident, child neglect and stalking, said Detective Capt. Louie Miller of the Ocean Springs Police Department.
He was also a suspect in a trespassing case, got a speeding ticket and was the victim of an assault, Miller said.
His daughter lived in Mississippi with her mother until January when she moved to Northbridge with Gagnon. Melia said there was a lengthy custody battle over the girl in Mississippi.
The girl's mother traveled to Northbridge once she was notified of the alleged assaults and has taken the teen back to Mississippi. Melia, who interviewed the girl's mother, described her as "shocked, but not surprised."
The Department of Social Services was notified of the case by Northbridge police.
"We have been working in cooperation with them and their investigation," DSS spokeswoman Jennifer Millikin said. Millikin said DSS had no prior history with the family.
Gagnon's brother, John Gagnon, refused comment at his home yesterday, while another relative, Elizabeth Gagnon, said only, "It's a tragedy."
Neighbors living in the condo complex where Gagnon allegedly perpetrated the unspeakable acts expressed shock over the case.
"I think it's horrible," said next door neighbor Jay D'Amico. "It's disturbing, to say the least."
D'Amico said he often saw Gagnon jogging and stretching outside, always wearing a blue "police" shirt. He also said Gagnon's daughter and her friends were always around the complex.
"I've seen him with the kids, but I never expected anything like this," he said.
D'Amico's girlfriend, Erika Anderson, said she was "disgusted" by the charges.
"I think it's sick. I'm like blown away by it," she said.
Another neighbor, Matthew Depasquale, lived in the building for two years but said he rarely saw Gagnon.
While Mississippi police said Gagnon was living there in 1998, neighbors said he arrived in Northbridge three years ago from South Carolina.
"It's a scary thing. You wonder what goes through someone's mind," Depasquale said. "It's weird to find out something like that can happen right down the hall."
Marion Gagnon, no relation to Peter Gagnon, said she owned a restaurant in town in the early 1970s and recalled him coming in with his brother and sister. She said the working class family was "well known" and "respected."
"I'm stunned," she said. "He was a good kid. He must have cracked up."
