Last Sunday morning, an unidentified man raped a woman sleeping in Burleith after removing an air conditioning unit from a window in her house and climbing through the window, according to a Metropolitan Police Department incident report obtained by the Voice on Wednesday night. The suspect is still at large.
The report states that the victim “awoke to [the suspect] having vaginal intercourse with her” and that the suspect fled after she yelled, “Get off of me.” The report also says that her home was secured with a deadbolt.
According to the report, the suspect is a white, brown-haired man of medium build. MPD Lieutenant John Hedgecock also told neighbors at Monday’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting that the suspect is in his mid-20s.
The campus community learned about the assault on Sunday night from a campus-wide Public Safety Alert email. Both MPD and Department of Public Safety officials made comments about the incident that suggested that the suspect entered the victim’s home without having to use force.
“This was a preventable crime.” Hedgecock said in Tuesday’s edition of The Hoya. “Students have to lock their doors and protect themselves by staying in groups.”
“Don’t make it easy. Don’t be so trusting. Lock your doors, stay in groups. When you have house parties, don’t leave the doors open all night long,” Hedgecock told ANC meeting attendees, according to the Georgetown Dish.
Hedgecock did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Wednesday night. DPS Associate Director Joseph Smith also did not respond to multiple requests for comment on Wednesday night.
While MPD Second District Commander Matthew Klein also declined to address Hedgecock’s comments, he said that MPD notified the community about the sexual assault a few hours after it happened. Klein wrote in an email that MPD typically does not specify the level of the sexual assault when it alerts the community to crimes.
At the ANC meeting, Hedgecock told residents that MPD would be altering patrols in response to the assault. He said MPD was also pursuing other initiatives, but he could not give details because he did not want to give information about MPD tactics to criminals.
When did DPS officials make any comments indicating the home was entered without force? The PSA says “The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department reported to DPS that a sexual assault occurred at approximately 7:30 am on Sunday, August 29, 2010. The suspect forced his way into a residence in the 3800 block of S Street NW, in the Burleith neighborhood. When the victim was awakened by the assault, the suspect fled the scene. The victim is not a Georgetown University student.” It clearly states the suspect forced his way into the home. Also, the information about this assault was provided by MPD to DPS. DPS was not notified of the crime when it happened, did not participate in the investigation, and it didn’t involve a GU student. You are clearly implying that the University tried to hide something when that is patently false.