WASHINGTON — A man charged with sex assault after police lifted his DNA off a disposable cup of water has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing four women in D.C.
Santiago Rodriguez Campos, 34, a Mexican national that lived in Alexandria, Virginia, admitted to abusing the women Friday in D.C. Superior Court, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu announced. Rodriguez Campos pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth-degree sexual abuse and two counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez Campos attacked women on D.C. streets over a nearly two-year period from September 2016 until the summer of 2018.
The D.C. cases occurred in the areas of Georgetown, Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle. Rodriguez Campos was also a suspect in Arlington County, Virginia, cases that occurred in Ballston.
D.C. Superior Court documents said police collected Rodriguez Campos’ DNA on Aug. 5 from a Styrofoam cup of water he was offered after being arrested for wearing a hood/mask in public.
Detectives used DNA analysis to link Campos to victims who were grabbed from behind by a man who transferred an unknown liquid onto them, according to charging documents.
Rodriguez Campos has been in jail since Aug. 9. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 15.
As part of his sentence, Rodriguez Campos will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
After Rodriguez Campos completes his punishment, which could include prison time, he will be subject to deportation proceedings.
