Washington, D.C. – A 20-year-old Southwest District of Columbia man, Raynard Davis, was sentenced today in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by the Honorable Robert I. Richter to 20 years in prison and eight years of supervised release for numerous charges related to his brutal rape of a woman in August 2007, and an earlier unrelated stabbing of a male during an altercation, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced.

The defendant will also have to register as a sex offender for life. On June 11, 2008, Davis, of the 100 block of Elmira Street, SW, Washington, D.C., entered a guilty plea to First Degree Sexual Abuse and Possession of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence in connection with the rape, and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in connection with the earlier stabbing.

According to the government’s evidence, on August 31, 2007, at approximately 4:30 p.m., in the unit block of Forrester Street, SE, Washington, D.C. (PSA 706), Davis and another male were outside the victim’s apartment building when she arrived home. Davis and the victim do not know each other and Davis initiated a conversation with her. The victim ended the brief conversation and went into the building and inside her apartment.

A short while later, the victim heard a knock on her door. She opened the door and Davis, while armed with a gun, and the other male forced their way into the apartment. The victim picked up her one-year-old child and Davis pointed the gun at her head and ordered her into the bedroom. Davis pulled out a knife and threatened to cut the child’s leg if she did not take off her pants. The victim complied and the defendant raped her while she held onto her child. When Davis finished, he ordered the victim to stay in the bedroom. When it sounded like they were gone, the victim looked out the window and saw that her car was missing. The victim’s vehicle was located a few days later.

A few days earlier, at approximately 9:35 p.m. on August 28, 2007, Davis and a male victim, got into a verbal argument in a house in the 100 block of Elmira Street, SE, Washington, D.C. The argument led to a physical fight between the two men. After the fight ended, Davis grabbed a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the victim twice, which lacerated his kidney.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended lead Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Detective Elgin Wheeler, who did an outstanding job investigating the rape case, and working with the victim and other witnesses; Mobile Crime Officer Pamela Cooper who did a superb job processing the crime scenes; and FBI DNA Analyst Tamyra Moretti. He also praised the outstanding assistance by Sergeant James LaFranchise who investigated the August 28, 2007 assault. Further, U.S. Attorney Taylor commended Officers Takia Barnes, Melissa Smith, Todd Perkins, R.C. Williams, Kim Togans, LaMar Jefferson, Eric Matthews, and Detective George DaSilva from the Seventh District. He also praised the work of Paralegals Gena Johnson and Richard Cheatham, and Legal Assistant Tiffany Jones. Finally, U.S. Attorney Taylor expressed his appreciation to Victim/Witness Advocate Iris Vega who worked closely with the victim, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracey Lankler and Courtney Spivey, who investigated and prosecuted these cases.