WASHINGTON – Mustapha Kone, 48, who has no fixed address, was sentenced today to seven years in prison on kidnapping and other charges stemming from separate attacks against two young women near the Foggy Bottom Metro station in the fall of 2014, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips.

            Kone pled guilty in March 2016, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to charges of kidnapping, threats, and assault. He was sentenced by the Honorable Florence Pan. Following his prison term, he will be placed on five years of supervised release.

            According to the government’s evidence, on Oct. 19, 2014, at about 3:30 a.m., one of the victims was sitting on a bench in the above-ground plaza near the Foggy Bottom Metro station, in the 2300 block of I Street NW.  The defendant – a total stranger – approached the woman and told her that he wanted her to come with him into the nearby bushes as he had something that he wanted to show her. When she declined, Kone grabbed her and tried to pull her into the bushes.  She resisted, and Kone told her that if she tried to leave, he would kill her.  She began to scream, and Kone let go of her.  She then ran to her nearby residence and called 911 to report the assault.

            Meanwhile, Kone walked further west in that same plaza, where he encountered the second victim, another total stranger.  He walked up to her and told her that he wanted to have sex with her.  He then knocked the woman to the ground and got on top of her.  Unable to get away, she began to scream. A group of nearby Good Samaritans then came to her aid, yelling at Kone to get off of her.  He did, and began to flee down New Hampshire Avenue, toward the Watergate complex.  Two of the Good Samaritans gave chase, calling 911 as they pursued him.

            Kone ran behind a bush or tree in front of one of the nearby apartment buildings.  The two Good Samaritans stood watch, urging the 911 operator to get the police to their location quickly before Kone could flee again.  While those two young men remained, keeping an eye on Kone, campus police from George Washington University arrived and arrested the defendant.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Phillips praised the work of police from the George Washington University, who initially apprehended the defendant, and of detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit, which investigated the case.  He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime. Additionally, he commended the bravery and willingness to become involved of the Good Samaritans who came to the aid of the victims.

            U.S. Attorney Phillips also acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen Kennedy and Mark Aziz, Paralegal Specialists Michelle Chambers and D’Yvonne Key, and David Foster, Tracey Hawkins, La June Thames, and Katina Adams-Washington of the Victim/Witness Assistance Unit. Finally, he commended Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter V. Taylor, who investigated and prosecuted this case.