Harwich man pleads not guilty in rape of three girls. He claims he's being blackmailed.

Editor's note: This story was updated on Nov. 9, 2023, to correct information about bail status.

A Harwich man accused of raping three girls pleaded not guilty to the charges Thursday in Orleans District Court.

Barry Viprino, 42, faces three charges of raping a minor, indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older and unlawful possession of large capacity firearm magazines.

Viprino, who was ordered held on $200,000 bail, claims he is being blackmailed by the three alleged victims for money and denies he had non-consensual sex with any of them, said Matthew Bober, the defense attorney assigned to represent Viprino.

Cape and Islands Assistant District Attorney Courtney Scalice said Viprino is alleged to have threatened the girls’ lives and the lives of their loved ones in exchange for sex that was non-consensual on several occasions. She said the girls were all 17 at the time of the alleged incidents.

“The defendant has allegedly made a habit out of grooming little girls who are less than half his age,” Scalice said. “He allegedly continued to groom, manipulate and sexually exploit girls while he knew that charges were pending against him.”

There are currently two cases against Viprino that include similar charges such as rape of a minor and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older. In August, the first case was filed against Viprino, accusing him of raped a girl in his office and threatening her with a gun. The other two rape charges were filed after the alleged incident in August.

In 2003, Viprino was also charged with rape and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 years or older, according to court records obtained by the Times. The case went to trial and he was found not guilty.

Viprino was part of a publicized effort in Feb. 2017 to request that part of his property off Chatham Road be exempt from wetlands regulations based on an agricultural exemption. The request was denied by the Harwich Conservation Commission and he appealed the decision through Barnstable Superior Court and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

In April 2017, the Harwich Board of Health issued a cease-and-desist order on Viprino claiming he was operating an unlicensed piggery, was selling meat wholesale to a Yarmouth Port market without the necessary permit and was not properly managing a large compost and manure pile on the property where Resilient Family Farms is located.

Scalice said if Viprino is found guilty he could face up to 140 years in prison.

“In addition to that, he is incredibly comfortable with threatening physical harm or legal action in order to get others to comply with his demands,” Scalice said. “The defendant believes that he is above the law and this demonstrates that he is a flight risk.”

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jd__walker.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Harwich man faces rape, firearms charges. He pleaded not guilty