Police Nab Sexual Assault Suspect
On October 7, 2025, Fairfax police arrested an Alexandria man and charged him with kidnapping and attempted sexual assault.
The victim told police that a stranger entered the room she was in on the 7200 block of Fordson Road at around 7:28 p.m. on Oct. 4. She said the man struck her in the head and attempted to sexually assault her. She managed to escape, but the man ran away before the police arrived.
Three days later, detectives spotted a man matching the suspect’s description at a nearby store. They arrested him and charged him with abduction with intent to defile, attempted rape, statutory burglary, simple assault, and petit larceny. He is being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond.
Victim Identifications
Victim identifications are very compelling in court. Something almost mystical happens when a victim points to a defendant and says “that’s the guy.” Victim identifications are often unreliable as well. So, a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer must undermine the identification’s reliability.
We should pause and emphasize that there’s a difference between reliability and accuracy. During Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearings, witnesses often testify about the judge’s character, or more properly the lack of character. These accusations may well be accurate. No one will ever know for sure. Frequently, however, these accusations aren’t reliable. A blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut, but a blind squirrel is clearly unreliable.
Victim identification reliability issues usually include possible bias, the extreme stress of the moment, and police pressure to identify a suspect.
Possible bias could be personal, or more likely in criminal court, racial. Individuals rarely fabricate or exaggerate stories in order to get someone else in trouble. But these things have happened before, and they will happen again. Racial bias refers to cross-racial identification issues. If a black woman sees ten white men who are all about the same age, weight, and height in a lineup, all ten will look alike.
As for stress, it’s hard to imagine a more stressful situation that a kidnapping and attempted sexual assault. Extreme stress clouds perception and memory. Furthermore, in the above story, the alleged victim was hit on the head. Her head injury could multiply these effects.
In certain situations, especially single-photo lineups, witnesses feel extreme pressure to pick someone. Sometimes, the witnesses feel like they’re the ones under arrest.
Undermining Alleged Victim Testimony
When they undermine alleged victim testimony, Leesburg criminal defense lawyers must walk a very fine line. They must effectively undermine the witness’ credibility without attacking the witness and antagonizing the jury.
For this reason, many lawyers stress the accuracy/reliability differences discussed above. Usually, a lawyer does not argue that a witness is lying. Instead, a lawyer points out that our eyes are not video cameras and our ears are not microphones. We see, hear, and remember things selectively.
Work With a Thorough Loudoun County Lawyer
There’s a big difference between an arrest and a conviction in criminal law. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Leesburg, contact Simms Showers, LLP, Attorneys at Law. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
Source:
wjla.com/news/local/-abduction-attempted-sexual-assault-groveton-fairfax-county-police-department-alexandria-7200-block-of-fordson-road-oscar-barrios-abduction-with-intent-to-defile-attempted-rape-statutory-burglary-simple-assault-petit-larceny
