BOSTON -- A Boston deputy fire chief accused of raping a woman at gunpoint after posing as a police officer is being charged with raping a third woman, prosecutors said Monday.

Peter Pearson, 51, of East Bridgewater, was arrested last week after a woman who said she was raped saw her attacker again and was able to provide information to identify the man, police said.

Third Woman Accuses Firefighter Of Rape

He was arraigned and arrested again on Friday in connection with an alleged attack on a second woman and was charged again on Sunday when a third woman came forward, police said.

"I think that the new allegations have been significantly presented to the police by witnesses who have less than strong credibility," defense attorney Kevin Reddington said. "Because they are people who are, from what I understand, either drug addicts, they've been in and out of jail, on parole."

The first woman said that Pearson forced her to perform a sex act on him in June in a Brockton park. After she came forward, the second and third women told police that they recognized Pearson as their attacker.

The second woman, a 36-year-old, said that in the spring of 2003, Pearson posed as an undercover police officer and forced the woman at gunpoint to perform a sex act on him.

The third woman, a 34-year-old, said that in February 2005, Pearson posed as the head of the Brockton Narcotics Task Force and forced her to perform a sex act.

"There appears to be a pattern of conduct, (where) this individual pretends to be a police officer or state trooper, picks up women in the city of Brockton and forces sexual relations with them," said Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

No bail was set, and Pearson is scheduled to return to court on Wednesday for a dangerousness hearing.

His wife, two children and a number of neighbors were in court to support him. Pearson remains suspended without pay from his post at the Boston Fire Department.