District Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing Child Relative

            WASHINGTON – A 31-year-old man, from Washington, D.C., pled guilty today to a felony charge stemming from the sexual abuse of a child who is a relative, Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. announced

            The defendant, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of first-degree child sexual abuse. The plea, which is contingent upon the Court’s approval, calls for a prison sentence of 135 months, and requires the defendant to register for life as a sex offender. The Honorable Michael Ryan scheduled sentencing for Nov. 13, 2015.

            The charge stems from the man’s sexual abuse of a female relative when she was 10 to 11 years old. According to the government’s evidence, the defendant, on multiple occasions, went to the child’s home in Northwest Washington, where he engaged in various sexual acts with her. In May of this year, the girl disclosed vaginal discomfort to her mother, and was taken to Children’s National Medical Center. There, doctors diagnosed the child with Trichomonas, a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Afterwards, the child disclosed that the defendant had been sexually abusing her for the past one and a half to two years.

            After the defendant’s arrest in July, the government obtained a urine sample from him, which was sent to the Johns Hopkins University’s STD Laboratory. The lab results showed that he possessed Trichomonas, the same STD he transferred to the child. The defendant has been in custody since his arrest.

            In announcing the plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen commended the work of the detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Investigations Division. He acknowledged the critical services provided to the complainant at the District of Columbia Children’s Advocacy Center, and the specialized medical treatment provided at the Children’s National Medical Center. He further commended the vital assistance provided by Dr. Jonathan Zenilman, Dr. Charlotte Gaydos, and Laboratory Manager Laura Dize from the Infectious Diseases Department at Johns Hopkins University. Finally, he commended the efforts of staff from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Child Forensic Interview Specialists Tracy Owusu and Karen Giannakoulias; Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughn; Paralegal Specialist Joyce Arthur; Legal Intern Allison Denton, and Assistant U.S. Attorney John L. Hill, who prosecuted the case.