D.C. police officers arrested a Maryland teenager Monday in connection with one of the sexual attacks that took place around Howard University last week.
Avon Marquell Pittman, 17, of the 4700 block of Temple Hills Road in Temple Hills, was charged with assault with the intent to commit first-degree sexual abuse while armed with a knife. Pittman was charged as an adult.
There were eight attacks around the Northwest Washington campus last week. Police said they were all related.
A team of plain clothes police officers combing the Northwest neighborhood Saturday evening stopped Pittman after they saw him allegedly following a woman in the 200 block of T Street Northwest. Police say they found a knife on the teenager, but released him after they could not find the woman he was following.
After developing new leads, D.C. police arrested Pittman on Monday and charged him in connection with an Nov. 28 attack in the 400 block of Elm Street Northwest.
In most of the attacks, a suspect grabbed the women, made derogatory sexual comments and tried to fondle them. Twice the suspect was armed with a green-handled kitchen knife. None of the women were physically harmed.
Howard University issued a campus-wide alert and D.C. police increased patrols and raised the reward to $10,000.
