A Honduran man faces rape fees after allegedly assaulting a lady on a preferred mountaineering path in Herndon, Virginia, US. Police mentioned that is the primary stranger rape within the city in over a decade.Denis Humberto Navarette Romero, 31, has been arrested and charged with abduction with intent to defile and rape, in accordance with the Herndon police division.The sufferer, who didn’t know Romero, was attacked on the busy Washington and Outdated Dominion Path between Ferndale Avenue and Grace Avenue when he allegedly grabbed her arm, pressured her to the bottom, and assaulted her. Nevertheless, the sufferer managed to flee and sought assist from a passerby, who referred to as 911 to report the alleged crime.“The lady had been strolling alongside the path after leaving a enterprise in downtown Herndon when she was approached by the suspect. The suspect overtly grabbed the sufferer and compelled her to the bottom, the place he proceeded to rape her. The sufferer was in a position to struggle off the suspect and run away,” mentioned Herndon police chief Maggie DeBoard in a press convention, as quoted by native media FFX Now.When police arrived on the path, they situated Romero in a car parking zone within the 700 block of Station Avenue and took him to the Herndon police station for questioning. Detectives discovered objects belonging to the sufferer in his possession.’That is the one stranger rape we’ve had within the city in my greater than 12 years as chief of police,” DeBoard added, as quoted by New York Submit.Police imagine there could also be extra witnesses to this incident and different victims who encountered the suspect.”He has a documented historical past of sexual assault and exposures within the area, starting in 2022, together with fees within the city of Herndon previous to final night time’s incident,” mentioned DeBoard. “What’s disturbing is the variety of instances this offender has been arrested and launched. He has continued to re-offend, and his habits has escalated to a rape in a really public space in our city final night time.”Earlier than being arrested on rape fees, Romero, initially from Honduras, a rustic in Central America, was launched from jail on November 14 after serving half of a 50-day sentence for indecent publicity.Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin criticised the discharge of Romero, who’s within the US illegally. He informed The Submit, “I’m heartsick for this sufferer and outraged that native Fairfax County officers recklessly launched violent unlawful immigrants who ought to have been prosecuted and deported.”Youngkin added, “This can be a dereliction of their most elementary obligation to maintain individuals secure. Prioritizing violent unlawful immigrants over the security of Fairfax residents is unacceptable,” stressing that Virginia shouldn’t be a sanctuary state.The suspect’s preliminary listening to is scheduled for March 5, 2025, in accordance with a neighborhood media report.
