Defendant Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Abuse

Thank you for reading D.C. Witness. Help us continue our mission into 2024.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Maribeth Raffinan approved Nov. 4 a defendant’s plea deal, effectively waiving his right to trial and DNA testing.

William Romero, 23, was initially charged with one count of second-degree child sex abuse and one count of attempted second-degree child sex abuse in connection with an. incident involving a 5-year-old victim on Dec. 28, 2021.

In the Friday hearing, Romero pleaded guilty to all counts.

In discussion of the plea terms, the defendant pleaded guilty to both counts and the prosecution agreed to dismiss any additional charges from the complainant and to not pursue any other indictment.

Romero acknowledged that he will have to register as a sex offender for a 10-year period and that this case may impact his immigration status.

On Dec. 28, 2021, Romero was arrested after his sister reported that he had sexually abused the victim, according to court documents. On the day of the incident, Romero was looking after his sister’s 7-year-old and 5-year-old children, when the 5-year-old victim went into her mother’s bedroom. The defendant followed the victim, pulled down both their pants, and sexually abused the child by licking the victim’s genitalia and rubbing his genitalia against hers.

The defendant is currently released under the High Intensity Supervision Program (HISP).

His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 17, 2023.