WASHINGTON – Northern Virginia’s serial “butt slasher” was sentenced to seven years in prison on Friday after a bizarre criminal streak that spanned two continents, two years and more than three international law enforcement agencies.
Johnny D. Guillen Pimentel pleaded guilty in June to two counts of malicious wounding and unlawful wounding as part of a plea deal.
Reports of Pimentel’s “butt slashing” began early in 2011 when one by one, nine women came forward saying a man had slashed their rear ends — cutting their clothing with a razor or a box cutter — while they were shopping in various northern Virginia locations.
None of the women was seriously injured.
For months, “butt slashing” reports trickled in as Pimentel continued his assaults. In August 2011, Fairfax County created a task force dedicated to tracking down the man.
In September, Fairfax County police identified Pimentel by name and released a picture of him to the public, asking for information about his whereabouts.
For months there was no news of Pimentel, until Dec. 29 when Fairfax County police announced the 40-year-old had been spotted in Peru, his native country. Peruvian media outlets had picked up Pimentel’s story and aired it widely. Because the U.S. Marshal Service was not authorized to enter Peru, federal officials were forced to sign an Interpol red notice, which is the equivalent of an international arrest warrant.
Two weeks later, Pimentel was arrested at a mall in Lima.
But it was nearly a year before he was returned to the U.S.
Mark Espinoza, senior inspector for the U.S. Marshals Service Office of Central/South American Affairs, said in 2012 that Pimentel, a Peruvian citizen, was entitled to hearings in his home country that could take up to a year.
After months of appeals in Peruvian courts, Pimentel was turned over to Interpol police in December, 2012. They brought him to an international airport in Peru where he was handed over to the U.S. Marshal Service.
Fairfax County Police took custody of him at Reagan National and transported him to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
Three months ago, Pimentel pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal that dropped five other charges.
One thing still remains a mystery: Pimentel’s motive.
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- Police: Serial butt slasher flees country, turns up in Peru
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