Detectives from the Gaithersburg Police Department are searching for a man they believe is responsible for at least 10 robberies and sexual assaults that occurred in one area between May 9 and June 16.
Police department spokesman Sgt. Rudy Wagner said all incidents have happened during the day or early evening hours in the area of West Deer Park Road and West Diamond Avenue, and all but one of the victims has been a Hispanic female.
“We won’t know why until we talk to him,” Wagner said. “If these were just robberies, it could be linked to Latinos often carrying their money on them since many don’t have bank accounts.
But the sexual assaults add a different element.”
The suspect is a black male approximately 16 to 21 years of age, between 5 feet 5 inches and 6 feet 1 inch tall, with a thin build, dark complexion, short close-cropped black hair and a clean-shaven face.
Wagner said the perpetrator often engages the woman in simple conversation, asking them things like “What time is it?” or “Do you live around here?”
He then fondles victims’ breasts and buttocks before grabbing their purses.
Some victims reported he is armed with a knife.
Wagner said that when the victims have screamed, the assailant has usually fled.
Anyone with information should call the Gaithersburg Police Investigative Section at 301-258-6400.
