Source: Office of United States Attorneys
WASHINGTON – Jose Angel Gomez, 42, formerly of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty to one count of first degree sexual abuse while armed, one count of first degree sexual abuse, one count of attempt first degree sexual abuse, and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon for three rapes between July and October 2018 involving three different victims who were strangers to him, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The defendant faces a period of incarceration of between 25 ½ and 35 years as part of the plea agreement if accepted by the Honorable Todd Edelman of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Judge Edelman scheduled sentencing for April 4, 2025.
The defendant admitted to the following facts related to each crime. On July 15, 2018, the 22-year-old victim returned home from a night out at approximately 2:40 AM. Shortly thereafter, she heard a knock at her basement door. Shortly after the victim opened the door, the defendant, Jose Gomez, grabbed and forced her to the ground. He brandished a knife and forcibly penetrated the victim’s vulva with his penis. Unable to obtain an erection, the defendant put his mouth on the victim’s vulva and ordered her to be quiet. The defendant cut the victim’s left cheek with the knife. Ultimately, the victim escaped to the safety of her home after kicking the defendant. She ran up the stairs where she called 911.
On September 7, 2018, at approximately 11:40 PM, the defendant, Jose Gomez, followed his second victim, who was 37 years old at the time, as she walked from the Fort Totten Metro station to the nearby 7-11 at 5210 3rd Street, Northeast. He followed the victim into the 7-11. He then followed her after she left the 7-11. Once in the area of the 100 block of Farragut Street, Northeast, a wooded access road for Metro, the defendant grabbed the victim, pulled her into a wooded area, brandished a knife, and ordered her to take off her pants. With a knife to her throat and one hand around her neck, the defendant removed the victim’s pants and forcibly penetrated her vulva with his penis. The defendant told the victim, “Shut up, b*tch, and have sex with me!” During the rape, the victim’s phone rang numerous times. The victim told the defendant it was her brother who would come looking for her if she did not answer. The defendant jumped up and fled giving victim the opportunity to get away and flag down police.
On October 21, 2018, at approximately 6:30 AM, the defendant’s third victim was waiting at the corner of 7th and Longfellow Streets, Northwest for an Uber to work. It was early and the area was largely deserted. As the victim waited alone, the defendant, Jose Gomez, approached and asked her if she was ok and what she was doing. The victim told him she was waiting for an Uber. The defendant continued to speak to the victim, who told him to leave her alone. The defendant continued to linger in the area. As the victim continued to stand on the corner and saw on the Uber App that that her car was getting further away, she began to feel unsafe and started to walk back towards her apartment building. The defendant followed her. The victim told him to stop. The defendant grabbed her by the throat and squeezed. The victim could not breath. The defendant began saying vulgar things. He dragged the victim into the alley, forced her to the ground, and removed her pants. He put his mouth on her vulva, penetrated her vulva with his finger and objects including a pen and keys, and penetrated her vulva with his penis. Every time the victim tried to move the defendant squeezed her neck. When the victim began to cry, the defendant told her to “shut the f*ck up.” Once the defendant ejaculated, he got up and while laughing stated, “I will see you around!” The defendant then fled on foot.
These violent sexual assaults were solved with a combination of DNA and other evidence. Once identified, Gomez was arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on June 7, 2023 and transported by law enforcement to Washington, D.C. The defendant has been incarcerated ever since.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department, including the Sexual Assault Unit and the Cold Case Unit of the Sexual Assault Unit, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marco Crocetti, Sharon Donovan, and Amy Zubrensky.
This case was brought as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative. In February 2018, the U.S. Attorney created the Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative, designed to work with law enforcement partners to reinvestigate, solve and bring charges in previously-unsolved cases of sexual assault of adults and juveniles. The Cold Case Initiative works with the Metropolitan Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the United States Marshal’s Service, and state and local law enforcement agencies in the DMV area and nationwide.
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