D.C. Serial Rapist Jose Gomez Indicted

WASHINGTON D.C. – Jose Angel Gomez, 42, formerly of Washington D.C., is facing life without parole after a D.C. grand jury indicted him today on charges stemming from a string of brutal stranger rapes that terrorized the city in the summer and fall of 2018. The indictment details horrific attacks on three women, each carried out with chilling violence and a brazen disregard for human life.

According to court documents, the first attack occurred on July 15, 2018, around 2:45 a.m. in the 5500 block of 8th St. NW. Gomez allegedly knocked on the back door of a home, then brandished a knife at the woman who answered, forcing her to the ground and raping her at knifepoint. The victim fought back, managing to kick Gomez and escape back inside her home, suffering a cut to her face and other injuries before calling 911. Police responded immediately and secured a sexual assault kit.

The violence continued. On September 7, 2018, Gomez targeted another woman near the Ft. Totten Metro station. He followed her into a wooded area in the 100 block of Gallatin Street, NE, and again, at knifepoint, sexually assaulted her. The victim, injured but determined, was able to flag down police after Gomez fled. A second sexual assault kit was collected.

The final documented attack took place on October 21, 2018, around 6:35 a.m. in the 5400 block of 7th Street, NW. Gomez preyed on a woman waiting for a rideshare, attempting to engage her in conversation despite her pleas to be left alone. When she tried to walk away, he grabbed her by the throat, dragged her under a porch, and committed a horrific sexual assault, escalating the violence by strangling her when she resisted. The victim immediately contacted authorities after escaping.

The cases remained cold for years, but detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit relentlessly pursued forensic leads. By December 2018, DNA evidence collected from all three rape kits revealed a match, entering the profile into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). While the DNA linked the attacks, the perpetrator remained unknown. It wasn’t until June 7, 2023, that Gomez was apprehended in Louisville, Kentucky, and brought back to D.C. Subsequent testing definitively confirmed him as the perpetrator in all three rapes.

Gomez is now charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances, five counts of first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life without release and will be required to register as a sex offender for life. His trial is scheduled to begin on September 17, 2024, before the Honorable Anthony Epstein. U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the MPD announced the indictment, vowing to hold Gomez accountable for his monstrous crimes.