FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 31, 2023

            WASHINGTON – On January 26, 2023, a 60-year-old Washington, D.C. man was sentenced to 60 months in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for sexually abusing his seven-year-old great niece, U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves announced.

            The man, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pleaded guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to a charge of second-degree child sexual abuse. On January 26, 2023, pursuant to the limitations contemplated in the negotiated plea agreement, the Honorable Robert Okun sentenced the defendant to prison, followed by supervised release. The defendant must also register as a sex offender for 10 years.

            According to the government’s evidence, in November 2018, the defendant was staying at the apartment of his niece who is the mother of the victim. One evening, while on the couch, the defendant pulled the victim onto the couch with him and covered her with a blanket. The defendant then proceeded to touch the victim’s genitalia with his hand. At the time of the offense the defendant was a convicted sex offender and was on supervised release in a previous child sexual abuse case. 

            In announcing the sentencing, U.S. Attorney Graves commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division. He also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the D.C. Children’s Advocacy Center. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocates Tracey Owusu and Maria Garcia, Paralegal Specialist Cynthia Muhammad, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marco Crocetti and Bonnie Thompson, who investigated and prosecuted the case.