By George P. Hassett

A Somerville man was arrested Monday in connection with a rape near the campus of Tufts University.

Police said Michael K. Mahoney approached the female victim on Dearborn Road shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday, forced her under the porch of a house and raped her. The victim’s recollection of specific details of her attacker ‚Äúwas crucial‚Äù in helping police apprehend Mahoney the next day at St. Peter’s field in Cambridge, said Captain Paul Upton. Police would not release additional details.

Mahoney was arrested and charged with aggravated rape and kidnapping in connection with the assault.  He was arraigned from behind a wall Tuesday morning in Somerville District Court at the request of prosecutors.

Police Detective Martha Costa said the victim was “very emotional” after the attack.

‚ÄúShe is doing what would be expected,‚Äù Costa said. ‚ÄúShe went through a traumatic experience but she’s relieved he’s under arrest.‚Äù

At Mahoney’s arraignment Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Handel said Mahoney is a danger to society. In May he was charged with domestic assault and battery after police said he pushed his mother out of his room during a dispute over money and baseball cards. Court records show Mahoney may have bit his mother in her breast area during the struggle. That case is pending.

“He is a danger to both his family and the public at large,” Handel said in court Tuesday. Mahoney remains in custody pending the outcome of a dangerousness hearing on Friday.

He is also a “person of interest” in a June 28 attack on Broadway near Powder House Square, Police Chief Anthony Holloway said.

According to a posting on the Web site Craigslist by a person who claimed to be the victim in that incident, a man with a crazed expression on his face attacked her while she was jogging on Broadway at 4:15 a.m. When she began to scream, the attacker allegedly said, ‚ÄúStop screaming or I’ll kill you.‚Äù The woman was able to get away unharmed and took a cab to the police department to report the incident, according to the post.

Upton said there were a number of similarities between the two attacks and said detectives continue to investigate.

The recent attacks are not the first time a rapist stalked the area surrounding Tufts University. In May, Nicholas Chacon was sentenced to 15 to 20 years in state prison for a series of sexual assaults against five women between April 12 and April 26 last year. Some of the victims were students at Tufts.

At a press conference Monday announcing Mahoney’s arrest, Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said the neighborhood ‚Äúis breathing a sigh of relief‚Äù with the alleged attacker off the streets.