Authorities Seek Serial Housekeeper Rapist At DC Area Hotels

WASHINGTON, DC -- The FBI Washington Field Office and numerous D.C.-area police agencies are seeking the public's help in identifying an unknown man who has been named the "D.C.-Area Hotel Rapist" after a series of attacks on housekeepers at local hotels from 1998 to 2006, including one attack in a Silver Spring hotel.

The case has gotten new life after the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia on May 1 secured an indictment of a DNA profile of an unknown suspect on charges stemming from two attacks in D.C., the first time that the office has ever indicted a John Doe DNA profile, according to an FBI statement.

Police believe that between Aug. 22, 1998 and Feb. 6, 2006, a serial rapist assaulted six to nine women in the D.C. area, and six of the attacks have been definitively linked by DNA to one assailant. Suspicious activity at five additional area hotels during that time period may also be linked.

"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," the statement reads. "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."

Authorities used DNA to produce a detailed report and composite sketch of the suspect.

The FBI offers the following information for contacting them with information in the case: "A combined reward of up to $45,000 is being offered by the FBI, Metropolitan Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Prince George’s Police Department, Greenbelt Police Department, and Arlington County Police Department for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the unknown suspect.

A detailed map and related story that includes addresses of the incidents, an original 2003 composite sketch of the assailant, an age-progressed DNA composite of the assailant, and images of the box cutter and ring that were recovered from the crime scenes are available on the FBI’s website. Law enforcement agencies are asking anyone with information to contact the Metropolitan Police Department at (202) 727-9099, text the MPD Text Tip Line at 50411, or submit a tip with the FBI at tips.fbi.gov. All tips can remain anonymous."

The following is a full list of crimes involved in the case, as listed by the FBI:

Sunday, May 26, 2002, at approximately 6:50 a.m. An 18-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in the offender’s vehicle on the 4000 block of Penwood Street in Hyattsville, Maryland, after having been picked up from the 3400 block of Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast Washington, D.C. The vehicle was described as a small black four-door car, unknown make and model.

Sunday, December 1, 2002, at approximately 2:30 p.m. A 31-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Hilton Hotel on Colesville Road in Silver Spring, Maryland. During the assault, the offender brandished a red-handled box cutter, which was recovered on the scene. The box cutter had the name Debbie handwritten on it.

Sunday, May 11, 2003, at approximately 3:15 p.m. A 27-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Renaissance Hotel on 9th Street in Northwest Washington, D.C. The offender’s ring came off during the assault and was recovered on the scene.

Friday, May 23, 2003, at approximately 10:30 a.m. A 68-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Jefferson Hotel on 16th Street in Northwest Washington, D.C. The offender bound the victim’s hands with a necktie during the assault.

Friday, June 6, 2003, at approximately 10:00 a.m. A 29-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Hotel on Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington, Virginia. The offender brandished a cord during the assault.

Monday, June 9, 2003, at approximately 12:28 p.m. A 22-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Marriott Courtyard Hotel on Golden Triangle Drive in Greenbelt, Maryland.

OTHER SEXUAL ASSAULTS AND INCIDENTS THAT MAY BE RELATED

Saturday, August 22, 1998, at approximately 12:05 p.m. A 30-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted in a hotel room at the Quality Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

Wednesday, May 28, 2003, at approximately 10:30 a.m. A suspicious person was observed at a Hyatt Hotel on Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia.

Wednesday, May 28, 2003, at approximately 10:45 a.m. A suspicious person was observed in the Marriott Courtyard Hotel on Clarendon Boulevard in Arlington, Virginia approximately 15 minutes after the Hyatt Hotel incident (0.2 miles away).

Monday, June 9, 2003, at approximately 12:13 p.m. A suspicious person was observed at a Residence Inn Hotel in Greenbelt, Maryland. The suspect was questioned by an employee and exited the hotel 10 minutes later. This activity occurred 15 minutes prior to the DNA-linked attack at the Marriott Courtyard (0.1 mile away).

Friday, June 13, 2003, at approximately 11:00 a.m. A suspicious person was observed trying to open doors on various floors at the Marriott Hotel on Russell Avenue in Gaithersburg, Maryland, then hastily fleeing. The individual was observed leaving the scene in a black Nissan Sentra.

Friday, June 13, 2003, at approximately 12:10 p.m. Two housekeepers reported that they observed a suspicious person at the Sheraton Baltimore Washington Airport Hotel in Linthicum Heights, Maryland. The housekeepers stated that the individual resembled the suspect who was portrayed in a flyer circulated by the Hotel Association of Washington, D.C.

Sunday, February 13, 2005, at approximately 11:27 a.m. A 34-year-old woman was sexually assaulted at knifepoint in a hotel room at the Quality Inn Hotel on New Hampshire Avenue in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Monday, February 6, 2006, at approximately 3:40 p.m. A 28-year-old female housekeeper was sexually assaulted at knifepoint in a hotel room at the Red Roof Inn on Richmond Highway in Alexandria, Virginia.

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(Image via FBI)