First of two parts

A massive batch of “Serious Incident” reports from the Bay State’s migrant-family shelter program is shining a light on disturbing incidents of physical and sexual assault in state-funded shelters since 2022.

The thousands of pages of reports from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities were obtained through a Herald public records request and appeal.

The reports — which expose incidents of child rape, domestic violence, brawls, drunkenness, drugs and more in the emergency housing shelter system — come as Gov. Maura Healey deals with the fallout from a big drug and fentanyl bust in a Revere migrant hotel. The governor recently ordered an inspection of state-run shelters after that high-profile arrest.

The documents show that there has been a long list of troubling incidents in the shelter system for years.

That includes a father reportedly sexually assaulting and impregnating his daughter. “Her father has had sex with her multiple times, both on the journey to the U.S. and in the U.S.,” reads the report from May of 2024.

Also in February last year, Boston Police arrested an individual and charged him with drug trafficking. Staff were told that police found a gun, “900 pills and 9 bullets and 30 grams of cocaine,” the report reads.

In another incident in June, a girl was taking out the trash when she was almost abducted, according to a report.

“Some creep came up behind her, pinned her arm behind her and covered her mouth and proceeded to drag her down the street,” the report reads.

Also in June, an alleged sexual assault involving a child was reported. No criminal charges resulted from the alleged sexual assault, and therapy was recommended.

“I can’t stress enough that what’s happening in these migrant shelters is worse than anyone could ever imagine, and it’s been going on unabated for years,” MassGOP Chair Amy Carnevale said in a statement. “The Healey-Driscoll Administration has overseen a state-funded humanitarian crisis, funded entirely by taxpayers, and now they want even more money to sustain this broken system.

“Inspections might uncover more horrors, but they don’t solve the root problem: Massachusetts’ overly generous Right-to-Shelter law, which has become a magnet for migrants and illegal immigrants worldwide,” she added.

In July, the Herald reported that more than 300 “Serious Incident” reports had been recorded at Bay State migrant-family shelter program sites so far in 2024.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities had listed a total of 316 Serious Incident reports at hotels, congregate sites, scattered sites, and co-shelters in the Emergency Assistance family shelter program.

The Herald obtained the Bay State’s “Serious Incident Reports Tracker Data” through a public records request after previously revealing how many people had been kicked out of the migrant-family shelter program for “inappropriate actions.”

Because the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities withheld the detailed records under the Privacy Exemption and Public Safety Exemption, the Herald appealed that with the state and EOHLC agreed to provide the records with redactions.

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Since 2022, more than 15,000 families and about 48,000 individuals have been served in the shelter system.

“We place the highest priority on the safety and well-being of residents and do not tolerate violence of any kind,” an Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities spokesperson said in a statement. “Our shelter providers are required to immediately report serious incidents to local police so that perpetrators can be investigated and prosecuted, and people who pose safety threats are removed from the shelter system.

“We also continue to make safety improvements to our shelter system, including requiring 24-hour onsite staffing,” the spokesperson added.

In November, the Healey administration announced that it will be phasing out the use of hotels and moving people more quickly out of the shelter system and into stable housing.

“While Massachusetts is managing this challenge in our state, we know that the surge in our shelter system is a direct result of the failures of our federal government,” the spokesperson said. “This is a federal problem that requires a federal solution, and we need Congress to finally step up to secure our border and pass immigration reform.”

Carnevale pointed to the need for reform, proposing at least a six-month residency requirement for access to the Right-to-Shelter program.

“This program was designed to help Massachusetts families who have fallen on hard times—not to provide housing for individuals traveling from across the globe to take advantage of our system,” Carnevale said. “If we don’t act now, this humanitarian disaster will worsen, crime will rise, and our state will run out of funding for critical services for our seniors, veterans, local aid and other important programs.”