Defendant Pleads Guilty to Misdemeanor Sex Abuse Charge

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A defendant pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 90 days in jail for misdemeanor sex abuse less than two months after he was originally charged.

Lawrence Arnold, 31, was initially charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and misdemeanor sexual abuse involving a firearm for an incident that occurred earlier this year. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual abuse and was sentenced on June 6.

On April 15, police officers responded to a call about a man in the 1700 block of R Street, NW who had assaulted a woman and threatened a second person with a gun. The woman told officers the defendant followed her into an elevator while she was getting her laundry and started touching her dress and buttocks. The victim was able to escape and ran back to her apartment.

The second victim, a relative of the woman, found and confronted Arnold in the elevator at which point the defendant lifted his shirt to reveal a gun in his waistband. The second victim returned to the residency and called for emergency services.

Officers identified Arnold using surveillance footage and arrested him the same day. 

Arnold pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor sex abuse on June 6 and was sentenced to 180 days suspending 90 days for the time he has already served. Additionally, he is sentenced to 18 years of supervised probation.

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