GAITHERSBURG, Md. – Montgomery County police are pleading with possible victims to step forward and help with the investigation into a case that authorities have labeled “horrific.”
According to police, Joey Poindexter, 38, trolled bars and played beer pong as he searched for young men he would later sexually assault, sometimes while the victims were unconscious.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. This is a sexual predator who has been loose,” said Assistant Police Chief Russ Hamill.
Police arrested Poindexter on Oct. 10 at his home in Gaithersburg. Authorities acted on information they received from a man who claimed Poindexter sexually assaulted him several days earlier.
“We’re trying to identify further victims,” Hamill says.
According to police, an investigation into photos on Poindexter’s cellphone indicated he has had at least 10 victims over the course of approximately a decade.
Authorities, though, believe there are far more victims, possibly dozens.
Only a handful have come forward to tell their stories.
“The number is only going to grow larger,” said Hamill.
Poindexter traveled across the country, police say.
Montgomery County authorities are working with a number of law enforcement agencies, searching for more people who may have been victims. Local police are in contact with police in New Jersey, Dallas, Las Vegas, Virginia Beach and Salt Lake City.
“Victims become highly intoxicated or possibly drugged. We are investigating that,” said Hamill.
Poindexter apparently is a real estate appraiser who enjoys having fun at bars. Authorities say he would search for victims while playing beer pong before taking them back to his Gaithersburg home in the 8400 block of Plum Creek Drive.
“He is an avid beer pong guy,” says one employee at Looney’s Pub, a College Park, Md. bar where police focused their investigation.
“He was literally here every Wednesday for probably the last two years,” the employee told WTOP.
All known victims have been heterosexual men in their late teens and early 20s, according to police. Authorities released Poindexter’s photo to the public Tuesday, hoping to encourage victims to speak up.
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