Washington, D.C. Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Federal Prison For Federal Kidnapping And Attempted Witness Tampering

Greenbelt, Maryland – Judge Paula Xinis today sentenced Kyrie Rashuad Thompson, age 29, formerly of Washington, D.C., to 30 years in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release for kidnapping and attempted witness tampering. 

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Thomas J. Sobocinski of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to the Court’s findings, on September 22, 2019, the victim drove her car to the residence of Thompson in the District of Columbia to drop off their three-year-old child to Thompson in a prearranged visit.  Instead of retrieving their child, Thompson opened the front passenger door and sat down in the victim’s vehicle and ordered her to drive to Bald Eagle Drive in Maryland.  After the victim refused, Thompson become angry and threatening.  As a result, the victim began driving.  Once they crossed into Maryland, the victim pulled into a parking lot in Forest Heights, Maryland, hoping to diffuse the situation.  During that time, the victim’s boyfriend called the victim’s cell phone.  Thompson answered the call, and told the caller that the victim was going to perform a sex act on him.  When Thompson concluded the call, he started choking the victim around her neck with his hands and pulling her head toward the passenger side floorboard, pinning her down so she could not breathe.  During this struggle, their three-year-old child was in the backseat of the vehicle crying.

At some point, Thomson stopped choking the victim and ordered her to continue driving to Bald Eagle Drive.  They ended up on Bald Eagle Drive, near the entrance to the Oxon Hill Children’s Farm in Prince George’s County, Maryland. There, Thompson pulled out his phone, and ordered the victim to perform a sex act on him.  When the victim refused, Thompson choked the victim again and then pushed the victim’s head toward his crotch, holding it there while he used his cellphone to record the sex act.  On the recording, their three-year-old child could be heard crying and telling him to stop.  After the victim performed the sex act, she drove back toward the District of Columbia, where Thompson took their child out of the car.  He threatened the victim not to call the police or something would happen.

On December 18, 2019, a federal grand jury in the District of Maryland returned an indictment charging Thompson with kidnapping.  Thereafter, on August 25, 2020, Thompson sent the victim a letter in which he wrote: “I talked to my lawyer and they told me they talked to you. Only thing is you have to change the facts [victim’s name].  You gotta say I didn;t kidnap you.  You gotta say nothing happened until we were already in MD.  They told me they know you probably think if you don’t go to court it’ll go away like before but its different with federal cases. You gotta call back and say I didn’t kidnap you. Please . . . . Tell them I didn’t force you to go to MD . . . Please call and say I didn’t kidnap you and you willing to tell a jury or judge that at court as well.”

United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation- Washington Field Office and the U.S. Park Police for their assistance.  Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Grossi, who prosecuted the federal case. 

For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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