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.
