Man Sentenced to 36 Months in Prison For Sexually Abusing Four Strangers

            WASHINGTON – Santiago Rodriguez Campos, 34, a Mexican national who lived in Alexandria, Va., was sentenced today to 36 months in prison with three years supervised release and must register as a lifetime sex offender for sexually abusing four women, including two in 2016 and two in 2018, in NW, Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced.

            Rodriguez Campos pled guilty in November 2018, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to two counts of fourth-degree sexual abuse and two counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse. He was sentenced by the Honorable Juliet McKenna. As part of his sentence, Rodriguez Campos will be required to register for the rest of his life as a sex offender. Additionally, he will be subject to deportation proceedings following his prison term.

            According to the government’s evidence, in the first offense, on Sept. 5, 2016, at about 10:30 p.m., the victim was walking on N Street NW to the 1200 block of Potomac Street NW when she first observed a man, later identified through forensic evidence as Rodriguez Campos. She reported that he was dressed in dark-colored clothing with a hood covering his head and face. The victim initially thought that she was about to be robbed. She began to walk up the steps to her door when Rodriguez Campos approached her from behind. He then reached between the back of her legs and ran his hand between her inner thighs, through her buttocks over her outer garment. The blue-jean pants that the victim was wearing were subsequently tested for DNA. Later DNA testing established that the perpetrator was Rodriguez Campos.

            In the second offense, on Oct. 26, 2016 at approximately 8:15 p.m., the victim was walking to her car, which was parked in the 1600 block of 33rd Street NW. While she was walking, she observed a man, later identified through forensic evidence as Rodriguez Campos, wearing a grey hoodie covering his face. As he walked towards her, the victim stayed by a tree box and let Rodriguez Campos walk past. As soon as he walked past her, she turned her back and he reached under her dress from behind, between her legs, and grabbed her vagina. The victim immediately screamed at the defendant and began yelling for help. She stated she was either pushed or fell to the ground and while doing so, struck Rodriguez Campos with her elbow. He then ran away. The victim later observed what appeared to be lubricant left between her legs by the defendant. This substance was swabbed and recovered as evidence. DNA analysis was done on this evidence sample. Later DNA testing established that the perpetrator was Rodriguez Campos.

            In the third offense, on May 31, 2018, the victim was walking home at approximately 10:10 p.m. when a man, later identified through forensic evidence as Rodriguez Campos, grabbed her neck, put his hand under her skirt, and touched her buttocks, vagina, and thighs. Rodriguez Campos also placed an unknown liquid on her legs. He then fled through the courtyard of a church she was standing in front of, located in the 2400 block of K Street NW. The victim turned over her underwear and skirt to law enforcement as evidence and it was tested for DNA. Later DNA testing established that the perpetrator was Rodriguez Campos.

            In the fourth offense, on June 3, 2018, the victim was walking west in the 1500 block of P Street NW, when she was approached from behind by a man, later identified through forensic evidence as Rodriguez Campos. He reached under her dress and grabbed her left buttock, then reached in between her legs and touched her vagina. The victim felt a sticky substance transfer from Rodriguez Campos’s hand to an area under her dress. The victim’s underwear, dress, and swabs of her inner thighs were submitted for DNA analysis. Later DNA testing established that the perpetrator was Rodriguez Campos.

            The defendant was apprehended on Aug. 9, 2018 and has been in custody ever since.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Liu commended the work of the Metropolitan Police Department, which investigated the case, and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences. She also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Lezlie Richardson and Tracey Hawkins and Paralegal Specialists T.J. McPhail and D’Yvonne Key.

            Finally, she expressed appreciation for the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stuart D. Allen and Ryan Creighton, who investigated and prosecuted the case.