District Man Found Guilty of Violent Sexual Assault from October 2006

WASHINGTON—A 50-year-old District of Columbia man, Robert Carlton Young, has been found guilty of a violent sexual assault in the Fort Totten area of Washington, D.C. that occurred in October 2006, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced today.

Young, formerly of 705 Upshur Street, NW, was found guilty late yesterday by a D.C. Superior Court jury of two counts of First Degree Sexual Abuse, as well as Kidnapping and Third Degree Sexual Abuse. When he is sentenced on July 20, 2010, by the Honorable Herbert B. Dixon, Jr., the defendant will face up to 30 years on each count of First Degree Sexual Abuse and Kidnapping. Under the District of Columbia Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines, Young faces a likely sentence of 15-27 years in prison on each count of First Degree Sexual Abuse and 6-10 years in prison on the count of Kidnapping.

According to the government’s evidence, on October 11, 2006, during the late afternoon hours, Young followed the 19-year-old victim into her apartment building and grabbed her from behind by her hair and put a key to her throat, just as she was about to enter her apartment. Young dragged and pushed the victim down to the basement of her building, where he violently raped her multiple times. After the rape, Young fled the building and the victim ran to her apartment, where she immediately reported the crime to her family, who called the police.

The victim was taken to Howard University Hospital, where a sexual assault examination was conducted. The swabs taken from the victim during the examination were sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Laboratory for DNA testing. The FBI Laboratory placed the male DNA profile found on one of these swabs into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a web of state and national databases containing DNA profiles from convicted offenders and crime scenes that is used as an investigative tool. The defendant was identified as a suspect through a CODIS search and DNA “cold hit.” The FBI then did further DNA testing, which confirmed that Young was the man who raped the victim in this case.

In announcing the jury’s verdict, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the work of MPD Detective Karen Zibrat and Mobile Crime Officer John Holder, who both did an exemplary job investigating the case, processing the scene and working with the victim and other witnesses. He also praised the work of FBI Forensic Examiners Rhonda Craig and Constance Fisher, as well as MPD Trace Evidence Examiner Harold Deadman. U.S. Attorney Machen also praised the work of Investigator John Marsh from the Criminal Investigations Unit, who conducted forensic analysis on the victim’s cell phone, and expressed special thanks to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharon Donovan and Michael Ambrosino, who provided assistance and guidance on DNA-related issues. He also commended the work of Paralegal Jason Manuel, Legal Assistant Nicole Lee, Intelligence Analysts Larry Grasso, Sharon Johnson, Shannon Alexis, and Bill Hamann, Victim/Witness Assistance Unit Staff Katina Adams, LaJune Thames and David Foster, and Leif Hickling from Litigation Services, all of whom provided critical support in preparing for trial. Finally, U.S. Attorney Machen expressed his special appreciation to Victim/Witness Advocate Iris Vega who worked closely with the victim and other witnesses, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Last, who investigated and prosecuted this case.