Hank Silverberg, wtop.com
ARLINGTON, Va. – A spike in attacks on women in Arlington over the last few weeks is raising some concern in a county with a low crime rate, though crimes are not all thought to be connected.
Three of those attacks were in hotels.
On Jan. 19, a woman was assaulted by a man who hired her through an online advertisement to perform sex acts at a Crystal City hotel. At the hotel, police say the woman asked the man to leave and he refused, forcing her to perform unwanted sexual acts.
On Jan. 31, another female was attacked outside her room in a hotel on Arlington Boulevard and sexually assaulted. When the woman reported the crime to the front desk, the suspect fled on foot.
Police believe the same suspect is responsible for these two attacks, and say he may be luring women to hotel rooms through Internet advertisements and sexually assaulting them. However, the woman on attacked on Jan. 31 did not answer an Internet ad.
He is described as a black man in his late 20s with a slender build and weighing about 160 pounds. On the Jan. 31 attack, he was wearing a one-piece navy blue jumpsuit.
“We are seeking more victims and asking the public for their help or for more additional information or additional victims to come forward,” says Dustin Sternbeck, an Arlington County police spokesperson.
In another attack, which occurred on Jan. 25, a woman was raped in a hotel on Columbia Pike by a suspect who police now have in custody.
Other crimes against women have also been reported in the county recently, police say.
On Tuesday, two men approached a woman getting out of her car on south 25th Street Court and threatened her with a gun, stealing her keys, purse and credit cards.
Two days later, on Jan. 27., a woman was walking alone on N. Henderson Road at 1:30 a.m. when an unknown man punched her in the face and stole her wallet. The suspect fled when the woman screamed. She says she was intoxicated at the time.
Sternbeck is advising women to avoid isolated areas, avoid carrying large number of bags — which can make them a target — and keep a cell phone at close reach.
“You need to walk with a purpose, trust your instincts and try not to load yourself down with too many bags or your purses that make you vulnerable at times,” he says.
Sternbeck says joggers should not wear ear plugs that will keep them from hearing anyone approaching them.
Anyone who may have been victimized or has any information on these attacks should call the Arlington police at (703) 558-2222.
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