A woman has alleged she was sexually assaulted at a Massachusetts State Police barracks on Martha's Vineyard after a trooper let a male friend stay overnight there. The alleged assault, which reportedly took place in late August, is now being investigated by local Oak Bluffs police rather than the state force, raising questions about oversight and conduct at the barracks. Both the local police and state police have issued statements stressing the independence of the investigation.

Sources told CBS News the woman was seen running half-dressed from the man into the street before telling a passing motorist she had been assaulted. Oak Bluffs Police Chief Jonathan Searle confirmed officers responded to a report of a "woman in distress" and said investigators have obtained court-authorised search warrants, including for the barracks itself, while liaising with the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office. Massachusetts State Police said the two people involved are not affiliated with the department, that it is conducting its own internal review, and that it is fully cooperating with the local investigation.