WASHINGTON — A DC man was in court Friday to face charges stemming from a 2014 cold case where a stranger was sexually assaulted. The DNA collected from that case matched DNA from another reported sexual assault in Anne Arundel County two years later.
Dawayne Joseph Spriggs, 37, has been charged with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of third-degree sexual abuse.
According to court documents, Spriggs encountered the victim near Minnesota Ave. Metro station around 1 a.m. on July 6, 2014. He then followed her and allegedly physically and sexually assaulted her in an alley.
The victim reported the assault to police and underwent a rape kit. In 2016, a DNA profile from that kit matched another sexual assault reported in Anne Arundel County, Maryland in 2013.
This year, detectives with MPD’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit collected DNA samples from Spriggs. Those samples were tested and reportedly matched both rape kits.
A grand jury indicted Spriggs on Wednesday, charging him with two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and two counts of third-degree sexual abuse. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $125,000, followed by not less than five years of supervised release, and would be required to register as a sex offender for the remainder of his lifetime.
Spriggs is facing additional charges in Anne Arundel County for unrelated offenses reported in Maryland in 2013.