Defendant Committed Three Separate Offenses in Four Month Period

            WASHINGTON – Darren West, 28, of Washington D.C., was sentenced to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release for burglarizing a home in Northwest Washington, D.C., and for sexually assaulting two women in Northwest and Southeast Washington, D.C. respectively, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).  

            West pleaded guilty in September 2023 to one count of second degree burglary and two counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.  He was sentenced on December 11, 2023 by the Honorable Andrea Hertzfeld.

            According to the Government’s evidence, on June 11, 2023, West entered the victims’ home through an unlocked rear door and cornered one of the victims in her bedroom.  When the victim called out to her roommate for help, the victim’s roommate confronted West with pepper spray and told West to leave the home. The defendant returned to the rear of the victims’ home and stole an iPhone before fleeing from the residence. 

            In a separate incident on March 9, 2023, West approached the victim at her workplace and propositioned the victim for oral sex. When the victim declined, West grabbed the victim’s buttocks. In another incident on June 8, 2023, West approached the victim, asked the victim how she was doing, and then grabbed her buttocks. When the victim pushed the defendant away from her, He threatened the victim with physical harm.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department.

            The Case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Benjamin Helfand of the Major Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Assistant United States Attorney Alexis Dunlap of the Misdemeanor Domestic Violence Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.