Former School Janitor Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for 2005 Sexual Assault of 12-Year-Old Girl

            WASHINGTON – Mandell L. Whitted, 50, of Capitol Heights, Md., was sentenced today to five years in prison on a felony charge stemming from the sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl, which took place in 2005 while he was a janitor at an elementary school in Southeast Washington, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Whitted pled guilty in August 2017, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of attempted first-degree child sexual abuse. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon sentence of five years in prison. The Honorable Hiram E. Puig-Lugo accepted the plea and sentenced the defendant accordingly. Following his prison term, Whitted will be placed on six years of supervised release. He also will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

            According to a proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, Whitted worked in 2005 as a janitor at J.C. Nalle Elementary School, in the 200 block of 50^th Street SE. During the summer between her fifth grade at that school and her sixth grade at another school, the 12-year-old girl worked at J.C. Nalle Elementary on a cleaning crew. Then, in the fall of 2005, she returned to the school to work at an after-school program. In the period between May 2005 through November 2005, according to the proffer, Whitted sexually assaulted the girl on numerous occasions at various locations, including the janitor’s office.

            Whitted was arrested in February 2017, following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). 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. She also expressed appreciation for the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Supervisor Dr. Lorraine Chase, Paralegal Specialist T.J. McPhail, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart D. Allen, who investigated and prosecuted the matter.