Officials Probe Link in 11 Reports of Prowlers, Assaults on Women
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Originally published at 12:43 p.m., August 14, 2008
Updated at 12:10 a.m., August 15, 2008
Authorities in Loudoun County investigating a string of assaults on women in their homes listed as many as 11 incidents yesterday, dating back to January -- many near the Washington & Old Dominion Trail -- that they believe are connected.
In several of the intrusions, the bulk of which occurred in Leesburg, a man wearing a black ski mask entered homes through unlocked doors and touched women in their beds before being scared off, Leesburg police said.
Yesterday, an Ashburn Farm woman awoke in her home in the 43400 block of Edgecliff Terrace about 1:30 a.m. to find a man touching her, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said. The man, who was short and possibly wearing a cap, apparently entered through a first-floor bedroom window that was left open and fled after the woman screamed, authorities said.
The area was searched by helicopter and canine units, but no suspect was found, authorities said.
"We haven't seen cases of this magnitude where someone is apparently purposely concealing their identity and entering homes," sheriff's office spokesman Kraig Troxell said. "It's unclear at this time what the motive is, but the cases do appear to be escalating."
Earlier this week, Leesburg police said there had been at least five similar cases in town over the past three months. Yesterday, they released a list of 11 incidents dating back to Jan. 30 that they believe to be part of the string, and the sheriff's office said it was investigating at least four other incidents in other parts of the county to see whether they are connected.
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The Leesburg incidents occurred in the Exeter, Kincaid Forest, Oakview, Foxridge and Silver Oaks communities as well as in a mobile home park, police said.
Many of the intrusions happened near the W&OD Trail, a popular bicycle and jogging path lined by several housing developments, Leesburg police spokesman Wes Thompson said.
The trail "seems to be a common denominator," Thompson said. "I don't want to scare people off the trail . . . but if you look at the addresses versus the access points [to the trail] . . . there's a nexus. . . . But I don't want people to think if they're not within walking distance of the trail" that they shouldn't be careful.
Troxell said: "The fact that the trail is right there may or may not have something to do with these cases."
Nevertheless, Shelly Whitt, a Kincaid Forrest resident whose home backs up to the trail, said that she will no longer allow her 13-year-old daughter to use the trail unless she is with a large group of friends, and she will not let her children play alone in the back yard anymore.
"We're just going to be more cautious," Whitt said.
In about half of the 11 Leesburg cases, Thompson said, the suspect was scared off before an assault could occur. About two-thirds of the 11 cases happened inside people's homes, with the others occurring in the perimeter of the home, he said.
The sheriff's office also noted a May case in Paeonian Springs involving a woman awakening to an unknown person in her room, as well as two cases in July in the Ashburn Farm area: one in which a woman was grabbed outside her home at 2:15 a.m., and the other in which a group of friends reported a suspicious person in dark clothing walking at night near a residence.
Troxell said the sheriff's office is also coordinating with Fairfax County authorities, who reported a woman in Centreville being sexually assaulted by an intruder at knifepoint Aug. 8, although Troxell said that case appears to be more extreme than the others and might be unrelated.
Authorities are urging residents to report suspicious activity, keep all doors and windows locked and to be mindful of garage door openers left in cars that could allow people access to homes.
To report any suspicious activity or persons call the Sheriff's Office at 703-777-1021. Anyone with information about any of the prowler cases are asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 703-777-0475, and those wishing to remain anonymous should call Loudoun County Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919. Information that leads to an arrest and indictment may make the caller eligible for a cash reward.
Tagged: crime, Leesburg, Loudoun Sheriff's Office, police
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2nd Amendment anyone?
Posted by jnsbear (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 3:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The intruder has the right to bear arms?
Posted by dfhaines (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 4:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
People need to start using common sense and locking their doors and windows. What is so hard about that? please tell me.
Posted by soran212002 (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 4:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Agreed. This is not Mayberry.
Posted by CountrySide2cents (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 5:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Again, one does not need a terminal degree in order to realise that a locked door or window might preclude one with a bad intent from entering a premise or dwelling. Certainly, it is rather elementary, indeed.
Posted by prokofiev85 (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 7:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How about people need to stop crawling in other peoples' windows in the middle of the night?! Don't blame the victim.
Posted by lreag71 (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 8:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm the woman listed in that article. The doors to the house were all locked, and I looked directly at the open (screened) window without worry before I got in bed. I've always thought this was a safe neighborood - I was unaware of the recent incidents.
I've certainly learned my lesson. I will never again go to sleep with a window open - no matter how cool the night or how high the energy costs.
Posted by victim (anonymous) on August 14, 2008 at 10:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Victim: I am so sorry you had that experience. You must feel horribly violated. I hope they catch the perp soon and that all of us will be able to sleep more soundly.
Posted by vapensant (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 6:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by rorschach (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 7:51 a.m.
The perp is pretty stupid; breaking into homes with, seemingly, only the intention of copping a feel.
.
I wonder if the weather has factored into his aactivities. Cooler weather means more open windows.
Posted by OhTheHumanity (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I would almost guarantee you that he's not going to stop at just "copping a feel". A lot of rapists start out that way. By the way, I'd LOVE it if you tried to climb through a window at my house. Enjoy my 74 pound Schutzhund-trained German Shepherd and my .22 that's near my bed, assuming you can get through her first. I leave my g'damn windows OPEN when it's cooler out, so come on by. That's a RIGHT everyone should have btw. This guy will make a mistake soon hopefully before he escalates, a fatal one would please me immensely.
Posted by sickofit1 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe he'll be stupid & come into my house. First, he has to get thru ADT - the screens are alarmed - (why don't people turn on their alarm systems) and then thru Herr Glock 9mm locked & loaded w a 17-round clip of hollow points. And there won't be any of that ridiculous "shoot him in the knee" nonsense either. He probably wears that mask b/c he's so ugly he can't possibly get a date.
Posted by ms1234 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
ms1234 wrote:
"why don't people turn on their alarm systems"
Well, not everyone can afford to have an alarm system. But, they should be able to use some common sense. Folks, this is not Smalltown, USA, we're talking about, where everyone knows everybody else. Please lock up all doors & windows, when going to sleep.
Posted by rinpoche2020 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 10:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You gun lovers sound all tough talking about your .22s and your Glocks. I'll bet when the time came, you couldn't pull the trigger and shoot another human being to death while looking him in the eyes.
Posted by Dingus2 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 11:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
1. Rinpoche2020 - An alarm system is $35 / month. Everyone has a dollar a day, especially when it comes your peace of mind & safety.
2. If it comes down to you or me, trust me Dingus2, I'm winning. No quarter.
Posted by ms1234 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 11:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)
You gun lovers sound all tough talking about your .22s and your Glocks. I'll bet when the time came, you couldn't pull the trigger and shoot another human being to death while looking him in the eyes.
Posted by Dingus2 (anonymous)
-----------------------------------------
First of all he is wearing a mask so you cant see his eyes. Secondly, if a person breaks into your home uninvited, then he is looking to do harm. I have no issues shooting, because my families safety is first priority. Try breaking into my house and see if I have the ballz to shoot, try me.
Posted by farmanimal911 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
First of all he is wearing a mask so you cant (sic) see his eyes.
Posted by farmanimal911 (anonymous)
------------------------------------
You're right, I guess that would make it easier.
Posted by Dingus2 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 12:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This person richly deserves to get a dose of homeowner fight-back. It certainly would deter him from ever doing this again, possibly (hopefully!) for good. And Dingus2, you don't look him in the eyes, you put the front sight post clear on his upper thorax; the eyes don't matter.
Posted by vmijpp (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 1:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Folks, this is not Smalltown, USA, we're talking about, where everyone knows everybody else."
This may be true, and the thought of waking up with a stranger in your bedroom is indeed disturbing. But the vast majority of sexual assaults are perpetrated by someone known to the victim, not a stranger who breaks in. Being in a community where everybody knows everybody doesn't do a thing to prevent sexual assault. Focusing on strangers and locking windows doesn't begin to address that problem. It is true that this behavior is likely to escalate if somebody doesn't incapacitate this fool. Let's just hope that an innocent bystander isn't harmed in the process.
Posted by daviddanaan (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 1:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"It is true that this behavior is likely to escalate if somebody doesn't incapacitate this fool." That may be true, but it is also true that taking the law into your own hand has never shown that this type of behavior is going to stop.You "incapacitate this fool," but there are many more like him.
Posted by rinpoche2020 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 2:50 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'll take Loudoun assaults over DC killings anyday!
Posted by ZebraLover (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 3:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why do men do this sort of thing? What a horrible person this perpetrator must be. I would be ashamed to call myself an American if I were him.
Posted by junksux (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 4:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You gun lovers sound all tough talking about your .22s and your Glocks. I'll bet when the time came, you couldn't pull the trigger and shoot another human being to death while looking him in the eyes.
Posted by Dingus2 (anonymous)
I don't know what kind of person you are, but you've clearly never been the victim of a violent crime. I have, and I would do anything to make sure it don't happen again. I would pull the trigger and never even think about it. So should you.. Just remember, there are things that a person can take from you that you can't get back. Living in fear, grief, anger, your family. The feeling of being violated. Real loss. Someone donning a mask and assulting people in their beds is up to no good. He gets one chance to surrender, then he goes down. End of story.
Posted by tommc1 (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am disappointed in our local police on this issue. I tell myself there MUST be a reason this is just now being announced, but I can't for the life of me figure out the delay - especially in light of our cool summer, when many residents have opened windows at night. This happened in my neighborhood on July 19. Check the police activity database and you will see no record of the event. Why? When a mailbox was knocked down in the night last year, the police were at my door at 7am the next morning asking for information. Now, this happens, and there is NO public notification from the police until now - the only way I knew this happened across the street from me was finding out from another neighbor.
Posted by susanwashingtonpost (anonymous) on August 15, 2008 at 5:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Hopefully, the police activity database has now been updated. If police departments in this region are not updating their databases accurately and in a timely fashion, 1) we as residents are making decisions and choices about how we live and interact in the community using invalid data, and 2) how can we trust the crime statistics being reported, which appear to keep dropping as the population increases and the number of complaints from residents increase?
Posted by Rachelfriend (anonymous) on August 16, 2008 at 8:20 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Susan, the police actually put out an alert back in July after the second incident in Ashburn Farm. I received it through the county's e-mail notification system. I looked on the website and found this...
http://www.loudoun.gov/controls/speerio/...
Posted by truthseekerva (anonymous) on August 16, 2008 at 4:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am a homeowner who had an attack. The one at 215am in Ashburn Farm. No penetration of the home occurred, the attacker assaulted someone outside on the patio. Don't even go there with the "I have my Glock.." stuff. Unless you wear it strapped to you 24/7. And same with the "what were you doing out at that hour..." That's like blaming the victims of the sniper for getting gas and then getting shot. The fact is there is some sick person out there that I hope to God comes back to my home again when I am home and I will with no compulsion beat his ski-masked brains to a pulp on the same patio bricks he assaulted my girlfriend's daughter on. I'll let a jury listen and see if I acted other than they would have if one of their family members was a victim. It is EASY to say "why didn't you to do this or that.... Kinda like blaming a rape victim for wearing a short skirt. I stand by and wait eagerly for this degenerate to come by again and try his moves. Then we'll rock and roll and I'll save the county money by dispensing with a trial and instead just having a burial. His, not mine. 'nuff said.
Posted by ridehd (anonymous) on August 17, 2008 at 11:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Trusthseekerva - thank you for trying to make me feel better, but actually the incident that happened across the street from me was in Leesburg. I looked again this morning, and it's still not in the Leesburg police activity database.
Posted by susanwashingtonpost (anonymous) on August 18, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Odds are it is an illegal committing the crimes and they are not able to get a fix on his identity or where his boarding house is. LOL
Posted by zcxnissan (anonymous) on August 31, 2008 at 8:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
If this were a black or white man he would have been caught by now. Since he is a illegal hispanic the police department will turn a blind eye as these cowards refuse to address the illegal immigration problem. Regardless of how well these people clean urnials and cut lawns I really have no use for them.
Posted by miniturk15 (anonymous) on October 1, 2008 at 9:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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