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By
Caroline Sagristano [former]
- March 6, 2023
Court
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Daily Stories
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Sex Abuse
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Sexual Assault
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A preliminary hearing was moved in order for a defendant to consider a plea offer extended by the prosecution in a child sexual abuse case.
The defendant, 31, is charged with two counts of first-degree child sexual abuse where the victims were under the age of 12. The defendant is accused of engaging in multiple instances of sexual abuse with two victims from 2014 to 2016 and 2013 to 2015, respectively. At the time of the offense, the defendant had been found guilty of committing sexual offenses against at least two other victims.
The defendant allegedly abused the two victims, who he identified as his step siblings on multiple occasions, while they lived in the same house.
In an interview with the police, one of the victims said the defendant would force his fingers inside her, put his mouth on her vagina, and force her mouth on his penis. The other victim said she experienced similar kinds of abuse during her interview, describing an instance where the defendant forced his penis into her vagina while she was showering.
Defense attorney Brandon Burrell said the defense needed time to examine hundreds of files sent by the prosecution and to consider the plea offer before a preliminary hearing could take place.
DC Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein continued the case and rescheduled the preliminary hearing from March 3 to March 17.