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D.C.-Area Hotel Rapist Sought
The FBI Washington Field Office along with the Metropolitan Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Prince George’s County Police Department, Arlington County Police Department, and Greenbelt Police Department seek information from the public to identify an unknown male named the “D.C.-Area Hotel Rapist.”
Between August 22, 1998 and February 6, 2006, a serial rapist violently assaulted six to nine women in the D.C. area. Six of these attacks have been definitively linked by DNA to a single assailant, and suspicious activity that may be related was reported in five additional area hotels.
In the vast majority of these cases, hotel housekeepers were victimized. The assailant would enter hotel rooms by stealth and rape housekeepers as they cleaned rooms. In several of the incidents, the suspect used a box cutter, a necktie, or a cord to threaten and harm his victims. These assaults took place at hotels in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
The D.C.-Area Hotel Rapist is described as an African-American male, between 5’7”-5’10” tall, with a medium to stocky build, brown eyes, black hair, and a medium to dark complexion. At the time of the assaults, he was believed to be in his 20s to 30s. Since time has progressed, he is believed to be in his late 30s to late 40s.
On May 1, 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia secured an indictment of the DNA profile of the unknown suspect on charges stemming from the two attacks that took place in Washington, D.C. This is the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has ever indicted a John Doe DNA profile.
“Working with the public and our law enforcement partners, we are hopeful that we finally will be able to hold this serial rapist accountable for his brazen crimes,” said Jessie K. Liu, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. “DNA evidence has enabled us to push this case forward and we are hopeful that this DNA profile, and the community, can help us finally achieve justice. Despite the passage of time, we have never forgotten these victims.”
“This individual preyed on members of the D.C. region for nearly a decade,” says Metropolitan Police Department Chief of Police Peter Newsham. “We have not deviated from our goal of holding this person accountable for his heinous actions and feel confident that our recent progress will lead to his identification.”
The first of these DNA-linked cases occurred in May 2002 on the street in the offender’s vehicle in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
The age-progressed composite sketch was created by Parabon NanoLabs from DNA that was left behind by the offender. This type of DNA testing uses DNA to produce a detailed report and composite sketch of the potential suspect that includes eye color, skin color, hair color, face morphology, and detailed biogeographic ancestry with age progression.
Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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