District Man Indicted On 29 Counts for Sexually Assaulting Three Women in Separate Attacks in Columbia Heights in 2003 and 2007

            WASHINGTON – Levi Ruffin, 41, of Washington, D.C., was indicted yesterday by a Superior Court grand jury for sexually assaulting three women in separate attacks that occurred in 2003 and 2007, announced U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and Peter Newsham, Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            Ruffin was indicted on 15 counts for the first attack, which occurred on July 2, 2003, including burglary while armed, kidnapping while armed, and first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances. He was indicted on nine counts for the second attack, which occurred on June 3, 2007, including burglary, kidnapping, and first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances. He was indicted on five counts for the third attack, which occurred on September 8, 2007, including burglary while armed, kidnapping while armed, and first-degree sexual abuse while armed with aggravating circumstances. Cold case detectives linked the defendant to two of the three attacks by DNA evidence.  

            The charges carry a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of release and, if convicted, Ruffin will be required to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. The charges are merely allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

            According to the government’s evidence, on July 2, 2003, the defendant displayed a knife, violently attacked and sexually assaulted the victim in her home, and demanded money before fleeing. On June 3, 2007, the defendant violently attacked and sexually assaulted the victim in a stairwell of her apartment building. On September 8, 2007, the defendant displayed a knife, violently attacked and sexually assaulted the victim in her apartment building. The defendant was a stranger to all three victims.

            Ruffin was identified as a suspect in these offenses by MPD’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit in June, 2018. On June 27, 2018, a D.C. Superior Court judge signed a complaint and warrant authorizing Ruffin’s arrest, five days before the statute of limitations would have run on the first case. Ruffin is currently in custody serving a sentence on a 2013 violent armed sexual assault and robbery of a woman in the 6900 block of Georgia Avenue, NW.

            In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Liu and Chief Newsham commended the work of the detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit, Deputy Marshals from the U.S. Marshals Service, and forensic examiners from the Federal Bureau of Investigations. They also acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Veronica Vaughan and Juanita Harris, and Paralegal Specialists Tiffany Fogle and TJ McPhail.

            Finally, they expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Zubrensky and Marisa S. West, who are investigating and prosecuting the case.