A 20-year-old man accused in a string of sexual assaults in Northern Virginia has had charges against him dropped in one incident in Fairfax County.
Hien The Dinh, of Stafford County, forcefully grabbed a woman by her crotch as she was pushing a baby stroller in her Chantilly neighborhood and held her in a chokehold in July, police said.
The woman’s mother heard her scream for help and ran toward the scene, at which point police said the suspect fled.
He was charged with one count of sexual battery and one count of abduction with intent to defile.
Those charges were dropped at a preliminary hearing Monday because the judge didn’t find probable cause, according to public court files and a spokesperson for the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office
It comes as Dinh is set to appear in court Wednesday in Prince William County, where he was transferred and faces charges of aggravated sexual battery of a victim younger than 13 and abduction with intent to defile related to a May 10 incident, according to court files.
Fairfax County police Chief Kevin Davis called Dinh “a true predator” and “public enemy No. 1” at the July news conference where he announced the initial charges, saying that Dinh confessed to the two sexual assaults that took place in Chantilly between May and July.
At the July conference, Fairfax County police said Dinh was suspected of a separate sexual assault in Chantilly on May 18.
Police also believe Dinh is connected to another sexual assault on the Loudon County campus of Northern Virginia Community College.
Dinh is being transferred to Loudoun County as he faces more charges.
Court records showed Dinh received a suspended 12-month sentence, serving only a month, for incidents in 2021, during which two teenagers were touched inappropriately in the parking lot of a high school near Richmond, Virginia. Dinh was charged with two counts of misdemeanor sexual battery and trespassing.
He was on probation for these crimes at the time of his arrest in July.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report.
