Victim Was Working from Home When Sexually Assaulted and Robbed
WASHINGTON - Antwon Pitt, 22, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty by a jury today of charges stemming from a sexual assault against a woman he attacked while she was working from her Southeast Washington home, U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips announced.
Pitt was found guilty of charges of first-degree sexual abuse, kidnapping, first-degree burglary, robbery, threats, and felony assault. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Pitt will be sentenced on Aug. 19, 2016 by the Honorable Florence Pan. He remains in custody pending further court proceedings.
According to the government’s evidence, on Oct. 13, 2015, at approximately 2:15 p.m., the victim was alone and working at home on her computer. Suddenly she saw Pitt standing in her apartment. He had entered through an unlocked door. After learning that the woman was alone, he grabbed her and slammed her onto the floor. He proceeded to violently press his hand over the victim's mouth and nose as he forced her down the hall with his other hand around her throat. Once in the victim's bedroom, he raped the victim on her own bed. After the rape, he took the victim's phone, demanded her passcode, and left. The victim was taken to the hospital where she was treated for her injuries, which included fractured facial bones requiring surgery.
The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) obtained surveillance footage from the alley by the victim's building showing a suspect walking through the alley after the rape wearing a backpack and bright orange shoelaces. MPD was then able to track the victim's phone to a gas station in Mitchellville, Md., where Pitt, who matched the description of the person in the surveillance footage and the description provided by the victim, was stopped. At the time of his stop, Pitt had the victim's phone and checks made out to the victim's husband, as well as a pair of gloves. Pitt’s DNA and the victim's DNA were found on gloves. At the time of the crime, Pitt was on release in a pending drug case.
Pitt is awaiting trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges related to another burglary that took place on Oct. 6, 2015 in Northeast Washington. The victim in that case awakened to discover a man in her home. The man robbed her of her cellphone, wallet, and other personal belongings and fled. Pitt has pled not guilty to charges in that case.
In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Phillips commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Metro Transit Police Department, the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences, Sorenson Forensics, and Signature Science, LLC. He acknowledged the efforts of a team that worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialists Donhue Troy Griffith and D’Yvonne Key, Victim/Witness Advocates Tracey Hawkins and Veronica Vaughan, and Criminal Investigator John Marsh. Finally, he commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah McClellan and Luke Jones, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
