Crime & Safety

Serial Groper Strikes Again, Incidents Now Number 18

Last previous incident took place Jan. 3 in Annandale. Fairfax County Police say a man grabbed at two victims Wednesday afternoon.

The man Falls Church Police believe attacked a woman from behind in October while she pushed her baby carriage, has attacked two more women in Fairfax County.

The serial groper is back. A serial groper — who has attacked 16 women and now a 17th and 18th victim Wednesday — has struck again, according to Lucy Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Fairfax County Police Department. The last incident was Jan. 3 in Annandale and police say the suspect struck again Wednesday.

The suspect groped two women within 20 minutes of each other on Wednesday afternoon, Caldwell said. "We're investigating two assaults that took place at 3:10 and 3:35 p.m. Wednesday." She said it's unknown whether they are linked but are likely the 16th and 17th assaults in the series of attacks.

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In the first incident Wednesday, a 30-year old victim, a woman, was walking south on Dinwiddie Street near Dana Avenue, and was approached from behind and groped. 

The suspect fits the description, Hispanic around 5'6", Caldwell said.

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The next incident took place a few blocks away, on Backlick Road near the intersection of Cabin John Road. A 25-year old woman was walking south on Backlick Road underneath the I-495 underpass when she was grabbed from behind. She yelled and he fled.

Officers are on patrol in the area as well as undercover, Caldwell said.

The attacks are described as a man running up from behind and grabbing women inappropriately. They have occurred mainly in the Springfield area. The last reported incident took place  and involved a 30-year-old woman who was jogging in the 3300 block of Briarwood Court when a man grabbed her. She screamed and the man ran away. The suspect is described as either a white or Hispanic male, between the ages of 25 and 30 and about 5'7".

At the time of the incident, the suspect was wearing a green jacket, dark pants and dark shoes. 

The incidents have largely been reported in residential areas of Springfield and police believe the incidents are connected and committed by the same suspect.

The lone Falls Church incident happened Oct. 19 near the intersection of South Maple Avenue and Gibson Street at about 4:23 p.m. The man allegedly approached the woman from behind while she pushed a baby stroller and grabbed her buttocks until she screamed. Police said the man ran off after that.

The victims have varied in age, ranging from 16 to 49-years-old; the times of the reported attacks have also varied. Each victim has described their attacker as a Hispanic male in his 20s to 30s, ranging in height from 5-feet-6 inches to 6-feet-tall.

The dates and locations of the groping incidents are:

  1. Sept. 7 at approximately 8:30 a.m. around the 7200 block of Monticello Boulevard
  2. Sept. 9  or Sept. 13 at approximately 7:30 p.m. around Cumberland Drive and Dinwiddie Street
  3. Sept. 18 at approximately 2:45 p.m. around the 6700 block of Metropolitan Center Drive
  4. Sept. 19 around Hibbling Avenue and Exmore Street
  5. Sept. 27 at approximately 9 a.m. around the 5900 block of Erving Street
  6. Oct. 2 at approximately 7:15 p.m. around the Hibbling Avenue and Exmore Street
  7. Oct. 19 at appriximately 4:20 p.m. near the intersection of South Maple Avenue and Gibson Street
  8. Oct. 25 at approximately 9:30 a.m. around Lake Pleasant Drive and Edinburgh Drive
  9. Nov. 1 at approximately 4 p.m. around the 7200 block of Commerce Street
  10. Nov. 1 at approximately 4:30 p.m. around the 6000 block of Hibbling Avenue
  11. Nov. 19 at approximately 6 p.m. around the 7200 block of Commerce Street
  12. Nov. 21 at approximately 1:20 p.m. around Amherst Avenue and Cumberland Avenue
  13. Dec. 11 at approximately 10:28 a.m. around the Blarney Stone Drive near Omega Court
  14. Dec. 13 at approximately 9 a.m. on Floyd Avenue and Erving Street
  15. Dec. 13 at approximately 5:45 p.m. around the 6000 block of Hibbling Avenue
  16. Jan. 3, at approximately 5:45 p.m. around Patriot Court and Briarwood Court
  17. Jan. 30, at approximately 3:10 p.m. Dinwiddie Street near Dana Avenue
  18. Jan. 30, at approximately 3:35 p.m. Backlick Road and Cabin John Road/I-495 underpass


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