BETHESDA PHANTOM HUGGER MAY HAVE ATTACKED ANOTHER WOMAN IN GEORGETOWN

VICTIM DESCRIBES SIMILAR

METHODS, PHYSICAL

APPEARANCE OF PERP

IN EARLY SUNDAY A.M.

ASSAULT

Another Robert Dyer @ Bethesda Row Exclusive

It's hard to believe no one else noticed, but a widely-reported sexual assault in Georgetown this past Sunday could well have been the latest attack by the Phantom Hugger of Bethesda.

Sunday morning at 4 A.M., a woman was attempting to enter a residence in the 3200 block of Cherry Hill Lane N.W. in Georgetown.  A man snuck up behind her, and hugged and groped her from behind.  Sound familiar?

The victim screamed and the man fled.  Exactly the response of the Phantom Hugger in his 3 summer assaults in Bethesda.

Then get a load of the description of the assailant given by the victim:  White or Hispanic male, 5'9"-6', dark hair, thin, t-shirt and shorts.

The Bethesda Hugger was described as "White or Asian," which - if you know anything about Latin America - it is entirely possible for someone to be Latino and have Asian features.  Or for such a vague description of any kind to be given in the dark, and in a panic situation.  This "white or _______" description suggests none of the victims knew the exact background of the assailant.  So you add that to your list.

Then, take the height.  5'9"-6' is definitely within the range of the Bethesda Hugger, said to be up to 5'10" by his victims.  Check number two.

Dark hair?  Check.  Thin?  Check.

Finally, how about that wardrobe?  T-shirt and shorts for both the Bethesda and Georgetown assailants.

It's elementary, my dear Watson.

Certainly, there is a possibility that the Bethesda Phantom Hugger has struck again.  Perhaps feeling the heat of recent police scrutiny, he went to another jurisdiction.  It would be a good idea for the MPD and MCPD to compare notes, and perhaps something one department knows could help them close this case together.