District Man Sentenced to 21 Years in Prison
For Sexually Abusing Three Children Under the Age of 12
- Victims Were Related to a Former Girlfriend -

     WASHINGTON - Charles G. Pettis, 39, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a prison term of 21 years for sexually abusing three female children, all of whom were under the age of 12, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Pettis pled guilty in May 2011 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to charges of first degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, attempted first degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, and second degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances. He was sentenced by the Honorable Lynn Leibovitz.

     Upon completion of his prison term, Pettis will be placed on 10 years of supervised release, under the supervision of the Sex Offender Unit of the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency. Judge Leibovitz ordered that Pettis must stay away from the victims. In addition, Pettis must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

     According to the facts proffered by the government at the plea hearing, the defendant was living with his former girlfriend in Southeast Washington when he sexually assaulted the young females; all of the victims were related to his former girlfriend. In one instance, Pettis entered the bedroom where one child, who was approximately seven or eight years old at the time, was sleeping. Pettis told the child to get out of bed and pull down her pants. Pettis then sexually assaulted her. Pettis also admitted to pulling down the pants of another child, who was 11 at the time, and sexually assaulting her. Finally, Pettis admitted that he sexually assaulted another child, who was nine or 10 at the time.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the extraordinary work of Detective Lynn Rosenberg, who obtained a detailed statement from the defendant in this case, and the excellent work of Detective Bridget Parrish, both of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Investigations Division. He also recognized the dedicated work of U.S. Attorney's Office Victim Advocate Veronica A. Vaughan, Forensic Child Interview Specialist Karen Giannakoulias of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Tracy Owusu of the D.C. Children’s Advocacy Center, Paralegal Kristy Penny, and Legal Assistant Nicole Lee. Lastly, he recognized Assistant U.S. Attorney HelenAnne Listerman, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

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