Authorities in Fairfax County are pursuing an intense search for a Hispanic man who allegedly committed sexual offenses on at least two separate occasions in the Chantilly area.
The mother of the victim of the most recent offense, which occurred on Monday, assured off camera that her daughter was waiting for her while she was talking to a neighbor when the attacker suddenly appeared. The man forcibly grabbed the girl in her private parts and then strangled her, he said.
Carolina Salazar, a friend of the victim, said that the victim and her mother “came here to the house to ask me for a favor. (The mother) left the girl with the baby in the parking lot and when she was going up the steps to knock on the door, her daughter screamed. She turned to see and this man was grabbing the girl.”
The crime happened around 11 am They immediately called 911. Police arrived at the complex and began searching for the suspect.
“The girl was wrong. She was crying a lot, also afraid for her mother because she didn’t know if the man could do something to her,” Salazar said.
The suspect is described by authorities as a Hispanic man in his 40s, tall, of medium build with straight black hair. In the security videos you can see that he was wearing a black cap, gray T-shirt, dark pants and a mask.
Police are also looking into the possibility that the man might be involved in another case that happened in May. At that time authorities released a spoken portrait of the suspect.
“Our department is also investigating a similar case that occurred on May 18 involving a burglary and sexual assault and the description of that suspect is very similar to the description of the suspect in this case,” said Sgt. Jacob Pearce of the Fairfax County Police Department.
The two incidents concern the neighborhood community.
“I have a 22-year-old daughter… so it’s also worrying because, that is, she practically couldn’t go out alone,” said Xóchitl Contreras, a resident of the area. “Hopefully this has a speedy resolution.”
