A Honduran man faces rape charges after allegedly assaulting a woman on a popular hiking trail in Virginia. Police said this is the first stranger rape in the town in over a decade.
31-year-old Denis Humberto Navarette Romero was arrested and charged with intent to defile and rape. The victim, who did not know Romero, was attacked on the busy Washington and Old Dominion Trail when he allegedly grabbed her arm, forced her to the ground, and assaulted her, according to police.
Romero, a Honduran national, was released from jail on November 14 after serving half of a 50-day sentence for indecent exposure.
Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard said in a press conference, “This is the only stranger rape we’ve had in the town in my more than 12 years as chief of police.”
Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin criticized the release of Romero, who is in the US illegally. He told The Post, “I am heartsick for this victim and outraged that local Fairfax County officials recklessly released violent illegal immigrants who should have been prosecuted and deported.”
He added, “This is a dereliction of their most basic duty to keep people safe. Prioritizing violent illegal immigrants over the safety of Fairfax residents is unacceptable,” stressing that Virginia is not a sanctuary state.
