BOSTON, April 2, 2026, – A Boston man with multiple convictions for violent offenses dating back to 2005 was arraigned Monday in BMC Central for charges related to an indecent assault on an MBTA bus driver, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
MICHAEL VANDENBROEKE, 41, of Jamaica Plain, was charged with indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, assault and battery on a public employee, and disorderly conduct on a public conveyance. Judge Paul Treseler ordered Vandenbroeke held on a $500 bail. He will return to court April 21 for a pre-trial hearing.
On March 26, officers met with an MBTA bus operator who stated that a man, later identified as Vandenbroeke, had sexually assaulted her upon boarding the bus at the Massachusetts Avenue and Washington Street Silver Line stop. The victim said that between 11 a.m. and noon, Vandenbroeke boarded the bus and picked up a bottle of perfume that she had dropped. As Vandenbroeke went to hand her the perfume bottle, he grabbed her face, poked her in the eye, placed his hand on her chest and groped her breast. The victim said that she moved Vandenbroeke’s hand away and yelled at him. Vandenbroeke then sat at the back of the bus, getting off a few stops later. The incident was captured on surveillance video from the bus and reviewed by police…