Assault Occurred in Capitol Hill Neighborhood
WASHINGTON - Selvin Chocooj, 32, a former driver with a national ride-sharing company, was sentenced today to 19 months in prison for sexually assaulting a passenger last year in Northeast Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.
Chocooj, who is from Guatemala and had been living in Oxon Hill, Md., pled guilty in April 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to third-degree sexual abuse. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon prison sentence of 12 to 24 months, to be followed by a period of supervised release and sex offender registration. The Honorable Craig Iscoe accepted the plea and sentenced Chocooj accordingly. Chocooj will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his prison term.
According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, on Dec. 10, 2017, at approximately 4 a.m., near the 400 block of East Capitol Street NE, Chocooj and the victim were seated in the front of the defendant’s Toyota Prius. While in the car, Chocooj touched the victim’s breast by force and against her will. She resisted and a physical struggle ensued. During this struggle, the victim sustained injuries to her neck and shoulder, and Chocooj sustained injuries to his face. As the struggle continued, Chocooj physically forced the victim out of the vehicle, got back into the car, and drove away. The victim remained on the scene and called 911.
The day after the incident, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department went to an apartment building in Oxon Hill, Md., and attempted to speak with Chocooj about the allegations. Chocooj jumped out of a third-story window and fled. He was eventually located by the U.S. Marshals Service in the Pikeville, Ky. area and arrested on Dec. 22, 2017.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit. She also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service. She acknowledged work of those who handled the case at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Tracy Hawkins, Paralegal Specialist Tiffany Jones, and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Matt Williams, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
