Maryland Man Sentenced To 14-Year Prison Term For Sexually Abusing Subordinate Food Services EmployeeAttacks Took Place At Federal Building In Washington, D.C.

     WASHINGTON – Alexander Hughes, 35, of Odenton, Md., was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for sexually abusing a subordinate employee in the cafeteria of a federal building where they worked in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Hughes was found guilty in May 2014, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of one count of kidnapping, one count of first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, three counts of second-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, and numerous counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances. He was sentenced by the Honorable John Ramsey Johnson. Upon completion of his prison term, Hughes will be placed on five years of supervised release. He also must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

     According to the government’s evidence, Hughes was a contract employee who worked as a food services supervisor at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Nebraska Avenue NW. The victim was one of the food preparation employees. Between December 2011 and December 2012, Hughes engaged in numerous acts of sexual abuse in various locations within the cafeteria, including an employee changing room and restroom.

     Hughes engaged in this conduct by force, as well as by telling the victim on numerous occasions that he could have her fired if she did not submit to his sexual acts. The victim, who felt totally helpless, eventually got the courage to report the sexual abuse, leading to a law enforcement investigation and Hughes’s arrest. According to the government’s evidence, Hughes also had sexually abused the victim and two other female subordinate employees by hitting them on the buttocks with various items, including cooking utensils, while they worked.

     In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit and Mobile Crime Division, and law enforcement officers with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  He also praised the efforts of those who handled the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Melissa Milam; Victim/Witness Security Specialists Katina Adams-Washington and David Foster; Paralegal Specialists Jason Manuel and Joyce Arthur; Joshua Ellen, Joseph Calvarese, Kimberly Smith, and the Litigation Services team, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Zubrensky, who investigated and tried the case, and Rebekah Holman, who co-tried the case.