View of the tree-lined W&OD Trail as it crosses Grace Street and heads west toward Ferndale Avenue in the Town of Herndon. According to police, a woman was abducted and raped on Monday evening, Nov. 18, between Grace Street and Ferndale Avenue.
The Herndon Police Department has arrested 31-year-old Denis Humberto Navarette Romero, of no fixed address, for abduction with intent to defile and rape.
Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard announced during a videoed Facebook news briefing on Tuesday, Nov. 19. "Our thoughts are most certainly with the victim as she copes with the events that happened last night," DeBoard said. “Herndon police detectives and Fairfax County Victim Services are doing all they can to support her and provide her with the services that she needs.”
DeBoard said she was “saddened and outraged” that a crime like this could happen in the town. “This is the only stranger rape that we have had in the town in my more than 12 years as chief of police,” DeBoard said. The incident occurred on a public trail, the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD), causing widespread concern.
Police report that after the woman left a business in downtown Herndon, she walked down the W&OD trail between Ferndale Avenue and Grace Street on Monday night, Nov. 18. The suspect grabbed the woman and forced her to the ground, "where he proceeded to rape her,” DeBoard said.
According to the chief, at 8:51 pm, officers responded to the W&OD trail between Ferndale Avenue and Grace Street for a call about a woman who approached the passerby and asked for help after been raped. The woman reportedly fought off the suspect, and he ran away, according to DeBoard. That is when she encountered the passerby who called 911.
After interviewing the victim and witnesses, police located the suspect “minutes later” in a parking lot in the 700 block of Station Street in the Town of Herndon. Herndon police officers brought Romero to the Herndon Police Station, where detectives questioned him and reported they found him to be in possession of property that belonged to the victim.
Police discovered that Romero has a documented history of sex exposures and offenses in the region dating back to 2022, which includes charges filed in the Town of Herndon prior to the Nov.18 incident.
DeBoard said that on Oct. 19, Romero was sentenced to 50 days in jail after pleading guilty to indecent exposure on the trail. He was only required to serve half of the sentence and was released just days before the recent attack on the W&OD Trail. DeBoard expressed concern about the number of arrests and releases Romero has experienced.
The suspect continued to re-offend, and his behavior has escalated to rape in a public area in our town, DeBoard said. Romero did not know the victim, according to DeBoard. Romero is at the Fairfax County Adult held without bond, charged with abduction with attempt to defile and rape. DeBoard said they will do everything in their power “to ensure that he does remain in custody.”
Police are urging potential victims or witnesses to come forward and are increasing their presence to ensure public safety. They emphasize vigilance, especially at night, and the importance of calling 911 for any suspicious activities. There will be additional uniformed officers on the W&OD in the upcoming days and weeks “to allay any fears."
The investigation into this case is ongoing. Police ask that anyone with information about this incident or anyone who believes they may have been a victim to contact the Herndon Police Department at 703-435-6846.
“I want our community to know that you should feel safe here in town, knowing that this individual has been removed from our streets in a rapid manner and remains in custody,” DeBoard said.
Other Attempted Abductions or Indecent Exposures on the W&OD Trail
* On May 12, 2024, Brandon Lee Anthony, 30, of Herndon, was arrested for indecent exposure on the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail in Sterling by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
* In August of 2022, a series of attempted abductions on or near the W&OD trail occurred. Fairfax County Police provided a photo of a man as a suspect in an incident that occurred on Friday, Aug. 26, in Herndon, believed to be related to the other cases. On Aug. 28, 2022, Fairfax County police said a man grabbed a woman walking east on the W&OD Trail between Town Center Parkway and the Fairfax County Parkway a little after 8 a.m. On Aug. 30, Fairfax police posted that officers were on the scene of an attempted abduction in the 1800 block of Old Reston Ave. in Reston. A man had tried to grab a teenager walking on the sidewalk, but she broke free and ran. On Thursday, Sept. 9, 2022, Herndon resident Juan Alfaro Rodriguez, 42, was arrested in the incidents.
* Aug. 23, 2019, Town of Vienna, Virginia Police Department Media Information said the “department has arrested a 33-year-old Vienna man after several incidents of Indecent Exposure were reported on the W&OD trail. Enoc Isaac Vasquez has been charged with four counts of obscene sexual display, which is a charge similar to the Indecent Exposure statute, 18.2-387.”