Defendant Forced Victim into Anacostia River Following Rape 

May 26, 2023 - WASHINGTON – Troy Ashley, 22, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for the armed rape of a stranger in Southeast Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Interim Chief Ashan Benedict, of the Metropolitan Police Department. On March 17, 2023, Mr. Ashley pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree sexual abuse while armed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

Ashley has been in custody since his arrest on March 26, 2018. His guilty plea called for an agreed-upon 18-year prison sentence. The Honorable Maribeth Raffinan accepted the plea today and also ordered lifetime supervised release.

According to the proffer of facts submitted at the plea hearing, on the evening of March 20, 2018, the victim was sitting in her car, which was parked in the 3200 block of Buena Vista Terrace Southeast, Washington, D.C. Ashley approached the victim’s car, displayed a black handgun, and demanded the victim let him into her car. Out of fear for her life, the victim complied.  Ashley then ordered her to drive into a nearby alley. In the alley, Ashley ordered the victim to take off her shirt and move to the back seat of her car, where he was. Once the victim had done so, Ashley forced her to perform oral sex on him. He then forcibly raped her. Ashley then ordered the victim to get back into the driver’s seat and drive from the scene.

Before and after the assault, Ashley demanded money and credit cards from the victim.  After the victim told Ashley for the second time that she did not have those things with her, Ashley ordered the victim to drive to the Anacostia River. Once they had arrived at the river, Ashley ordered the victim to strip naked and get into the water or he would shoot her. Again, out of fear for her life, the victim complied.

Ashley drove away in the victim’s car, leaving the victim in the river.  The victim was able to call for help from the water using a cell phone she had managed to conceal on her person as she got into the river.  Ashley was arrested while sitting in the victim’s car six days later. 

In announcing the plea and sentence, U.S. Attorney Graves and Interim Chief Benedict commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit.  They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Park Police and the District of Columbia Department of Forensic Sciences.  They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim/Witness Advocate Veronica Vaughan, Paralegal Specialists Garcia Clarke and Tiffany Jones, and former Paralegal Specialist D’Yvonne Key.  Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Creighton, Kathleen Kern, Robert Platt, and Kristin Sourbeer, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

Source: DOJ Release