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Judge Sets $100,000 Bail After DNA Links N.H. Man to 1991 Peabody Rape

A 2025 DNA match cited by prosecutors underpins $100,000 bail with strict release limits.

Overview

  • Darrell Lavoie, 59, of Nashua, New Hampshire, faces charges including aggravated rape, rape, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and nighttime breaking and entering.
  • Court records show he pleaded not guilty at a Sept. 30 arraignment in Essex Superior Court.
  • Prosecutors say a DNA sample collected in June 2025 matches the 1991 assailant’s profile, with a stated match probability of 1 in 1,000,000,000,000.
  • Judge Thomas Drechsler set $100,000 cash bail and ordered no contact with the victim or witnesses plus a requirement that Lavoie remain in Massachusetts if released.
  • Investigators previously entered the attacker’s DNA profile into a national database in 2006 with no hit, pursued warrants to obtain samples from persons of interest, and now set the next court date for Jan. 9, 2026.