John Hicks found guilty of raping woman on Metro train in Montgomery County

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A D.C. man has been convicted after authorities accused him of raping a woman on a Red Line Metro train in Montgomery County in 2016.

John Hicks faces life in prison after being found guilty by a jury on Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Hicks' DNA was found on a tissue the victim - a nurse - used after the attack. Video was played in court showing what police said was the suspect and the victim exiting the train at the Glenmont Metro station. The suspect's mother testified and identified her son as the man in the video.

Prosecutors also said Hicks' Metro card history put him at the Glenmont station after the attack.

The victim testified that Hicks had a knife and forced her into a partitioned area on the train. Court documents said she was cut trying to grab the knife.

She said Hicks attempted to rape her and then made her perform oral sex. The victim told police she believed he would kill her if she didn't comply. Officials said the suspect's semen was found in a tissue the victim said she spit in following the attack. It was recovered from the train.

Hicks was arrested on the same day of the attack. He opted not to testify during trial.

His defense lawyer said he was not the person who committed the attack and that there was a bad investigation and an incorrect identification of a suspect.

When the alleged rape happened in April 2016, Metro did not notify the public. The media found out about the case more than a month later.

It prompted anger from Congress at a hearing, and soon after, Metro changed its policies. Metro general manager Paul Wiedefeld instructed Metro Transit Police to notify the public of a violent crime the same day it occurs when doing so would not hurt the investigation.

Hicks was found guilty of first-degree rape, first-degree sex assault and second-degree assault.