North Carolina man pleads guilty to multiple sexual assault charges from over 30 years ago in Maryland

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - A North Carolina man pled guilty to second-degree rape and second-degree sex assault for attacks on two victims in April and June 1981.

The suspect, 67-year-old Marion Pearson, of Durham, NC, faces up to 17 years of executed prison time. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 19, 2024.

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Detectives with the Montgomery County Police Cold Case Unit identified an open rape case from April 1981 in March 2022, and submitted evidence collected from the rape to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) for additional testing. A search of the FBI’s National DNA Index System (NDIS) connected the DNA to Pearson.

According to authorities, Pearson served 22 years in a North Carolina prison for a series of first-degree rapes and was released in 2020. He previously lived in Prince George’s County and was arrested several times for assault, indecent exposure, and peeping-tom, between 1980 and 1999.

"After more than four decades, the defendant is finally being held accountable for his violent actions in Montgomery County, Md. We thank the members of the Montgomery County Police Cold Case Unit for bringing closure to this case and hope the conviction can provide some comfort to the survivors of these crimes," State’s Attorney John McCarthy said.