Defendant Caught Days Later in St. Louis, After Fleeing Area
WASHINGTON - Yusuf Omar Bush, 35, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 16-year prison term for sexually assaulting his girlfriend, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. announced.
Bush pled guilty in September 2014 to a charge of first-degree sexual abuse, midway through his jury trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Jennifer Anderson. Upon completion of his prison term, Bush will be placed on 30 years of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for life.
According to the government’s evidence, Bush and the victim began a romantic relationship in late 2013. In the months that followed, Bush became increasingly jealous and domineering, falsely accusing his girlfriend of having an affair with Bush’s nephew. Bush coupled his accusations with mounting levels of physical abuse. His manipulative behavior toward the victim paralyzed her with fear.
On April 28, 2014, Bush, upset over bad news from the IRS and fueled by unfounded suspicions of infidelity, lashed out physically again at his victim while they were at his house in Southeast Washington. As the day progressed, he became increasingly volatile, trapping her in his room and choking her, striking her in the jaw and body, and ramming a gun into her mouth. He then sexually assaulted her.
Afterwards, he permitted the victim to get dressed, but then forced her to kneel before him as he urinated into her mouth. Finally, he hogtied the victim and began suffocating her. Fearing her life was over, the victim screamed, “He’s trying to kill me! He’s trying to kill me!" A witness heard the victim’s screams and came to her rescue.
The victim fled the house barefoot and immediately reported the attack to police. By contrast, the defendant sneaked out the back door and fled the area. He purchased a one-way bus ticket to California using a false name. He made it to St. Louis, where deputy U.S. Marshals arrested him on May 2, 2014. When stopped, Bush demanded to know, “Who snitched on me?"
At the time of the offense, Bush was on supervised release for a 2006 drug conviction.
In announcing the sentence, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen commended the work of the detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit, who investigated the case, and the patrol officers who first responded to the scene. He also expressed appreciation for the work of the U.S. Marshals Service. In addition, he commended the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Lezlie Richardson of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit; Paralegal Specialist Joyce Arthur; Information Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia; and intern Cristina Stam. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys John L. Hill and Rebekah Holman, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
