A District of Columbia man accused of assault in March, but released from jail due to lack of evidence last week, may have been a victim of his past — he was picked out of a crowd by the victim who recognized him from the sex offender list, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
On March 3, James Blackmon, 46, was walking past police officers as they interviewed a nanny who had been brutally assaulted in a South Carolina Avenue home in Southeast, when the nanny pointed him out as her attacker, court records show.
“One reason why they were looking at (Blackmon) was because of his past,” said Channing Phillips, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office. “He’s a convicted sex offender and everyone knows about him.”
According to the sex offender registry, Blackmon has been in the District since 2002 and he was convicted of first-degree sex abuse in 1991 by a Connecticut court. The Web page also has Blackmon’s picture and his address, which places him in the neighborhood of the attack against the nanny.
In March, Blackmon was charged with armed burglary and intent to commit sexual abuse, but last week authorities released him because they didn’t have enough evidence to keep him behind bars, Phillips said.
The DNA found in hair left on the nanny’s sweater didn’t match Blackmon’s and there was no other evidence left behind by the attacker, Phillips said. The DNA couldn’t be linked to any already in the database either.
But, “there’s no question that someone attacked the nanny,” Phillips said.
As news of Blackmon’s release spread to a listserve run by District residents who live near the South Carolina Avenue house where the nanny was attacked, so too did fear. At first, residents voiced concern that Blackmon was back on the street, but as it became clear he couldn’t be linked to the crime, the worry took on a new tenor.
In an e-mail, Lisa Allison, who lives in the neighborhood said, “if prosecutors do not believe he committed the crime, the question then turns to who did. … It was a horrifying crime and I for one am more diligent about locking my doors and being aware of my surroundings since it happened.”
Phillips voiced a similar concern and said, “this is a tragic case. I hope we’ll find whoever was responsible and be able to prosecute.”
