District Man Sentenced to Prison Term for Sexually Assaulting Woman in Southeast Washington

            WASHINGTON – Windell Barnes, 29, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a 32-month prison term on charges stemming from a sexual assault he committed against a woman who works at a gas station in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Barnes was found guilty by a jury in April 2017 of one count of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of indecent exposure. The verdict followed a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable Craig Iscoe. Following his prison term, Barnes will be placed on 10 years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for a 10-year period upon his release from prison.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Dec. 12, 2017, at approximately noon Barnes attacked the victim after she dropped off supplies at her workplace. He grabbed the woman when no one was around and told her he wanted to have sex with her. He pulled down her pants, exposing her buttocks, and he tried to sexually assault her.  The victim was eventually able to escape Barnes’s grasp and run to her car.  Barnes, however, chased after her, attempted to get into her car, and then further tried to humiliate her, kissing the car window and exposing his genitalia to her in public. 

            The victim called police. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) quickly responded to the scene and Barnes was arrested a short time later. He has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department Sexual Assault Unit. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorney John Mannarino; Paralegal Specialists T.J. McPhail, Angelina Slagle, and Ethel Noble; Victim/Witness Advocate Tracey Hawkins; Victim/Witness Services Coordinators Katina Adams-Washington and LaJune Thames, and Litigation Technology Specialist Anisha Bhatia.

            Finally, she commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessi Brooks and Kristina Wolf, who together investigated, indicted and prosecuted the case.