An Annandale man is in custody after two “brutal and horrifying” sexual assaults this week, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. Kevin Lopez-Alton, 24, police said, broke into a woman’s Annandale business, where he held her captive and raped her. Later, he assaulted a second victim at Northern Virginia Community College, the department said.
“[His] crime in Fairfax County is both abhorrent and inhumane,” said Fairfax County Chief of Police Kevin Davis during a Monday news conference.
On March 20, Lopez-Alton attempted to enter an Annandale business while it was closed, police said. The first victim, a 59-year-old woman, refused him entry, but on his third try, he forced his way inside, police said.
“He made several attempts to get inside, they were thwarted by our victim the first couple of occasions but then he successfully forced his way inside that business,” Davis said. “That’s where he spent the next several hours attacking again and again and again.”
Lopez-Alton kept the victim trapped in the business and physically and sexually assaulted her for eight hours, Davis said. The victim found a moment when Lopez-Alton was distracted, and she was able to run to a nearby business for help, Capt. Daniel Spital said.
“She’s traumatized, but thankfully she’s still here with us. She’s very brave,” Davis said of the Annandale victim. “She was the victim of an attack that nobody should ever have to endure.”
The second incident occurred the next day, on Thursday evening, at the Annandale campus of Northern Virginia Community College. The 20-year-old victim, a student of the college, with the assistance of a bystander, was able to fight off the attacker and escape.
The Fairfax County Police Department and the Northern Virginia Community College police compared information from the two incidents and were able to identify the suspect as Lopez-Altan. The suspect’s tattoos and unusual mannerisms aided in the identification. The community college officer, a former Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy, was familiar with Lopez-Altan, which helped police solve the cases.
Police took the suspect into custody on Friday afternoon. Lopez-Altan has been charged with 12 felony charges, including three counts of rape, three counts of forcible sodomy, object sexual penetration, abduction with intent to defile, burglary, and strangulation. He is being held with no bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center.
“He is evil personified. He is brutal in his attacks on women. He is relentless in his attacks on women,” Davis said. “We’re proud that we were able to put him in handcuffs.”
The chief also said, “We can’t explain criminal misconduct like his. What he did was unspeakable.”
Davis does not believe the rapist acted with anyone else, but they are urging people who know about other crimes he may have committed to come forward. “It’s hard to believe he hasn’t struck before,” Davis said.
Officers in the Annandale area have increased their presence and extended community outreach efforts following the crime, according to a news release.
Feature image courtesy Fairfax County Police Department
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