Press Release  Bryon Hefner Pleads Guilty to Charges of Sexual Assault and Distributing Nude Photos Without Consent

Boston — Bryon Hefner has pleaded guilty and been sentenced on charges in connection with sexual assault and distributing nude photos without consent, Attorney General Maura Healey and Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins announced today.

Bryon Hefner, age 32, pleaded guilty today in Suffolk Superior Court to Indecent Assault & Battery on a Person Fourteen or Over, Assault and Battery, and Dissemination of a Visual Image of a Nude or Partially Nude Person.

After his plea was entered, Judge Mary Ames sentenced Hefner to one year in the House of Correction, suspended for a probationary term of three years. Hefner’s terms of probation require him to register as sex offender; stay away and have no contact with the victims and witnesses; maintain or actively seek employment; maintain his current course of mental health and substance abuse treatment; and remain drug- and alcohol-free with testing.

A joint investigation by the AG’s Office and the Suffolk DA’s Office found that Hefner sexually assaulted victims in the Boston area. Hefner today pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting one of the victims in June 2015 in a residential building and assaulting another victim in August 2016. Hefner also pleaded guilty to obtaining nude and partially-nude photos of another victim without the victim’s knowledge and to sending or showing those photos to another person without the victim’s consent.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Snook of AG Healey’s Criminal Bureau and Special Assistant Attorney General Ian Polumbaum, Chief of the Suffolk District Attorney’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, with assistance from Victim Witness Advocates Rebecca Quigley and Amber Anderson of the AG’s Victim Services Division, Senior Investigator Molly Parks of the AG’s Criminal Bureau, the AG’s Digital Evidence Lab, the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts State Police assigned to the AG’s Office and the Boston Police Department. 

Sexual assault can happen to anyone. While the victims of any crime are asked to call 911 in an emergency, survivors of sexual violence can also call their local rape crisis center for free and confidential services and to discuss their options. Support is available for all survivors of sexual violence, regardless of whether they wish to take part in a criminal prosecution. Services by city and town can be found at www.janedoe.org/find_help/search.

In Suffolk County, the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center offers a free and confidential 24-hour hotline at 800-841-8371. The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center provides medical accompaniment and many other free services to victims of rape and sexual assault.

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