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MPD announces arrest in series of cold case sexual assaults
D.C. police announced the arrest of a suspect after a series of sexual assaults in off-campus apartments between 2008 and 2012. The unknown suspect at the time was referred to as the ‘Georgetown Cuddler’ but police say these were rapes and they’ve now made an arrest.
WASHINGTON - D.C. police Wednesday announced the arrest of a man suspected in a series of sexual assaults in off-campus apartments more than a decade ago.
At the time of the attacks, the unknown suspect was referred to as the ‘Georgetown Cuddler’ but police say the victims were raped.
The Metropolitan Police Department has a unit that investigates cold-case sexual assaults. Now, those investigators have finally put a man behind bars for the violent crimes committed between 2008 and 2012. FOX 5 is told their diligent work combined with new DNA-matching technology helped lead to this arrest.
For years, police have known that the same suspect was responsible for five rapes at off-campus apartments near Georgetown and one near the University of Maryland but until very recently, they didn’t know who that suspect was.
Now, 54-year-old Ernesto Mercado of Arlington has been charged with the brutal sexual assaults. Police say Mercado would locate potential victims, sneak into their homes while sleeping, rape them, and then flee once they woke up.
Mercado has been charged with eight counts of sexual abuse for the D.C. cases. Detectives are still asking anyone who may recognize Mercado to come forward as they continue to investigate cold cases.
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Detective Alexander MacBean has worked on this case for about ten years. He declined to comment on conversations with the victims in these cases but did tell FOX 5 this.
"The reward from a case like this is being able to tell the victim years later that we’ve identified the perpetrator that committed this crime, and we’re going to do everything we can to hold that person accountable," said MacBean.
The charging documents indicate police have been tailing Mercado for weeks, monitoring his movements and working to get DNA swabs without his knowledge to confirm the match.
Just this past Monday, police got a warrant to get a DNA Swab from Mercado. They tested it, and thanks to new technology, a match came back Tuesday.
Police made the arrest at his home Tuesday night. Mercado is currently being held in the D.C. jail without bond.