Convicted Sex Offender Found Guilty of Kidnaping, Robbing,
and Sexually Assaulting Two Howard University Students

--Perpetrator identified through a CODIS hit--

Washington, D.C. – A Superior Court jury today found Anthony T. Lumpkin, a 42-year-old District of Columbia man who is a convicted sex offender in Maryland, guilty of kidnaping two 20-year old Howard University students, robbing one of the girls, and sexually assaulting both of them, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced.

Lumpkin, of no fixed address, was found guilty earlier today by a Superior Court jury of seven counts - two counts of Kidnaping, one count of Robbery, two counts of First Degree Sexual Abuse with Aggravating Circumstances and two counts of Third Degree Sexual Abuse with Aggravating Circumstances. The Honorable Robert I. Richter presided over the trial. Sentencing is scheduled for October 17, 2008. Due to the aggravating circumstances in this case, the defendant faces a possible sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release for these crimes.

The evidence at trial established that in the early morning hours of March 23, 2007, the defendant and another man approached the females in the 1600 block of Euclid Street, NW. The other man, who entered into an early plea in the case and testified at trial, pointed a gun at the females and demanded that they give him all of their money. He took the few dollars they had and left. Lumpkin told the females that he also had a gun but would not use it if they complied with his demands.

Lumpkin took the two women to the Bank of America on 1835 Columbia Road, NW, and forced one of them to retrieve money from her account. He then took the two women to a construction site at 2412 17th Street, NW, where he forced them to walk to the very back of the site. There, he forced them to perform oral sex on him. After he ejaculated in the mouth of one of the victims, that victim was able to preserve Lumpkin’s DNA by licking her hand. Lumpkin, meanwhile, walked them out of the construction site, asked to see their Howard University identification cards, and threatened to hurt them if they told anyone.

After Lumpkin released the two women, they ran to the Howard University’s Meridian Hill dorm and notified law enforcement. The FBI conducted DNA analysis on the semen from the victim’s hand and determined that the DNA matched the defendant’s DNA, which was contained in the Combined DNA Indexing System (CODIS). The defendant’s DNA was in the FBI’s convicted offender database because he was convicted of rape in Maryland in 1980.

In announcing the guilty verdict, U.S. Attorney Taylor noted that this case was successfully investigated and prosecuted with a large team of dedicated individuals. Mr. Taylor commended the lead MPD Detective Ingrid Harkins and lead MCL Officer James Savage for their outstanding work on this case. He also recognized and thanked the numerous other MPD officers and detectives who committed significant time and dedication to the case, including Detective Wallace Carmichael, Detective Elgin Wheeler, Detective Derek Bolding, Detective Julia Coley-Paci, Detective Karen Zibrat, MCL Officer Kemper Agee, MCL Officer Dwayne Mitchell, MCL Officer Ridley Durham, Captain Lawrence Harrington, Officer James Antonio, Officer Jose Morales, Officer Joseph O’Rourke, Officer John Denton, Officer Kyle Burley, Officer Madeline Collado, and Officer Cary Maulfair. He also commended FBI Forensic DNA Examiner Rhonda Craig and former FBI Forensic Biologist Britton McMahon. Mr. Taylor also praised the assistance of Victim Witness Advocates Veronica Vaughan and Tracey Hawkins, who provided invaluable emotional help to the two victims. He also thanked Paralegal Joyce Arthur and Legal Assistant Donice Adams. He recognized and thanked Litigation Support Personnel Ron Royal, who provided extremely helpful assistance both before and during the trial. U.S. Attorney Taylor gave praise and recognition to U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigators John Marsh, Christopher Brophy, and former Criminal Investigator Michael Evans and Intelligence Officer Lawrence Grasso for their incredible dedication and tenacity on this case. He recognized Howard University law enforcement officers Robert Thompson, Carl Patterson, and John Wyman who assisted the victims after the assault and the government’s investigation. He also recognized U.S. Attorney’s Office intern Lindsay Strauss who helped at all stages of pretrial preparation and assisted from counsel’s table during trial. And, finally, he commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharon Marcus-Kurn who indicted and prosecuted the case.