Herndon Police have arrested a suspect for the sexual assault of a woman on the W&OD trail on Monday night, in what Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard called “the only stranger rape we have had in the town in my more than 12 years as chief of police.”
The victim was walking down the trail between Ferndale Avenue and Grace Street on Monday night after leaving a business in downtown Herndon when the suspect grabbed her, forced her to the ground, and raped her. The victim was able to escape and asked a passerby to call 911 around 8:50 p.m.
After arriving on the scene and interviewing the victim and witnesses, Herndon Police located and identified Denis Humberto Navarette Romero “minutes later,” DeBoard said in a press conference.
Navarette Romero, 31, was arrested and charged with abduction with intent to defile and rape. He did not know the victim.
Navarette Romero is a Honduran national with no fixed address, Herndon Police say. He has a previous record of sexual assault and exposures in the region, beginning in 2022.
“What is disturbing is the number of times this individual has been arrested and released. He has continued to reoffend, and his behavior has escalated to rape in a very public area in our town,” DeBoard says.
There will be additional uniformed officers on the W&OD in the upcoming days and weeks “to allay any fears.”
“I want our community to know that you should feel safe here in town, knowing that this individual has been removed from our streets in a rapid manner and remains in custody,” DeBoard says. “We will do everything in our power to ensure that he does remain in custody.”
The investigation into this case is ongoing. Police ask that anyone with information about this incident, or anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Navarette Romero, to contact the Herndon Police Department at 703-435-6846.
Feature image of Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard courtesy Herndon Police Department/Facebook
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