Sexual Assault Trial Begins with Defendant Representing Himself

By Jennifer Ollmann [former] , Ashley Brown [former] - October 17, 2022
Court | Daily Stories | Sex Abuse | Sexual Assault |

A sexual assault trial began on Oct. 13 with the defendant opting to represent himself.

The 38-year-old defendant, whose co-counsel is defense attorney Howard McEachern, is being held on charges of assault with intent to commit first-degree sexual abuse, kidnapping, first-degree burglary, sex abuse, and two counts of committing lewd, indecent, or obscene acts for an incident that occurred in September 2020.

After opening statements, the prosecution submitted a video taken from the apartment building lobby into evidence. The video shows a man in a gray shirt with red sleeves chasing a woman into the lobby. While the video is hazy at parts, it shows three witnesses to the event watching the man kick and pull at the woman. 

The first witness, a man who lived in the building where the sexual assault occurred, said he saw the defendant pull at the victim’s clothing as well as hit and punch her. The prosecution also played the 911 call from the witness at the time of the incident. 

The next witness, a woman who lived in the building, said she saw the defendant chasing after the victim in lobby. He then subsequently pulled at her clothes, hit and kicked her, and bent her over. 

While searching the defendant’s apartment, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) found a gray shirt with red sleeves matching the same exact shit in the video. 

However, the detective admitted that DNA evidence was not collected.

DC Superior Court Judge Robert Okun set the trial to continue on Oct. 17.