City 'cuddler' assaults two women
Kellie Woodhouse
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: News
Two women were assaulted in houses along Hopkins Avenue early Sunday by a man county police say they "strongly believe" is related to at least 12 previous sexual assaults and Peeping Tom incidents perpetrated downtown over the past year.
Maj. Kevin Davis, commander of Prince George's County Police District 1, said during a press conference yesterday that police have no strong evidence or leads in any of the cases. The only patterns emerging from the series of crimes, Davis said, are that all victims have been white, college-age women living in single-family homes downtown and the man has consistently been described as a white male in his 20s.
In the Sunday cases and in previous assault cases, the man has either cuddled with or kissed his victims while they are sleeping. Police have informally referred to the man as the "cuddler." The Sunday assaults also shared similarities in that the women assaulted had attended or hosted parties in the homes they were attacked in.
The first assault took place in the bedroom of the victim's boyfriend, where they had gone to sleep at about 2 a.m., police said. The victim reported that she awoke to a male she did not know spooning and kissing her on the cheek. He quickly walked away after she awoke, police said. Her boyfriend remained asleep.
On the same street, a second victim told police she went to bed at about 3 a.m. after hosting a modest-sized party with her housemates. At 6 a.m. she awoke to a man groping and fondling her while masturbating.
Davis said at the press conference that the man may have attended one or both parties and "blended in" with other students. The man then likely entered through unlocked doors to gain entry to the homes and bedrooms where his victims were located, police said.
A housemate and friend of the groping victim said in an interview yesterday that a party at their home was attended by "a small number of people" and said she is confident the suspect did not attend. The Diamondback is not publishing the name of the housemate to protect the identity of the victim.
Maj. Kevin Davis, commander of Prince George's County Police District 1, said during a press conference yesterday that police have no strong evidence or leads in any of the cases. The only patterns emerging from the series of crimes, Davis said, are that all victims have been white, college-age women living in single-family homes downtown and the man has consistently been described as a white male in his 20s.
In the Sunday cases and in previous assault cases, the man has either cuddled with or kissed his victims while they are sleeping. Police have informally referred to the man as the "cuddler." The Sunday assaults also shared similarities in that the women assaulted had attended or hosted parties in the homes they were attacked in.
The first assault took place in the bedroom of the victim's boyfriend, where they had gone to sleep at about 2 a.m., police said. The victim reported that she awoke to a male she did not know spooning and kissing her on the cheek. He quickly walked away after she awoke, police said. Her boyfriend remained asleep.
On the same street, a second victim told police she went to bed at about 3 a.m. after hosting a modest-sized party with her housemates. At 6 a.m. she awoke to a man groping and fondling her while masturbating.
Davis said at the press conference that the man may have attended one or both parties and "blended in" with other students. The man then likely entered through unlocked doors to gain entry to the homes and bedrooms where his victims were located, police said.
A housemate and friend of the groping victim said in an interview yesterday that a party at their home was attended by "a small number of people" and said she is confident the suspect did not attend. The Diamondback is not publishing the name of the housemate to protect the identity of the victim.
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Viewing Comments 1 - 7 of 9
Chelsea
posted 3/05/08 @ 12:47 AM EST
Calling this criminal a "cuddler," even as a colloquial nickname, diminishes that his crimes are in fact serious sexual assaults and burglaries! Shame on the police and this newspaper. (Continued…)
Jayne Wayne
posted 3/05/08 @ 10:25 AM EST
Chelsea, I think you hit the nail on the head on both counts. Let's call a pervert a pervert, and hey, while we're talking about odd behavior, let's throw not locking your door in there too. (Continued…)
M
posted 3/05/08 @ 4:21 PM EST
No, Ruth, I never forget to lock my door. I live off campus, my door has three locks on it, and I lock all three of them any time I'm in the apartment, day or night. (Continued…)
Brandon
posted 3/05/08 @ 5:00 PM EST
I agree that locking your door is the best defense. These attacks, however, are not the fault of the victim. Honestly, you should be able to leave your door unlocked, unfortunately because we live in such a hell hole, you can't. (Continued…)
Doug
posted 3/05/08 @ 9:37 PM EST
"such a hell hole". You suburban white boys should see what America's real hell holes look like.
big al
posted 3/05/08 @ 11:01 PM EST
Hell hole it ain't. I really want to live in these places where people leave their houses wide open. Not just because I'd like to rob them, but I think these utopia's are few and far between. (Continued…)
McNulty
posted 3/09/08 @ 4:06 PM EST
Victims are not responsible for the actions of the person guilty of the crime against them. But, victims need to live with the fact that they were complicit in creating the circumstances surrounding their victimhood. (Continued…)
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