Police used old evidence in conjunction with new technology to arrest a suspect in a string of home invasion rapes near Georgetown University and the University of Maryland. News4’s Derrick Ward reports.
An Arlington man could get up to life in prison, if he’s convicted of a string of sexual assaults, dating back as far as 2005. Police say he targeted co-eds at two local universities. He was arrested thanks to new technology and the work of a special unit working with the U.S. Attorney and others to close sex assault cases.
Fifty-four-year-old Ernesto Ramon Mercado is charged with first and second degree sexual abuse in connection with a series of home invasion rapes. He’s linked to a total of six assaults between 2008 and 2012.
“These cases stem from six unsolved home invasion rapes,” said Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith. “Five of these crimes occurred in the Georgetown, Glover Park area of Northwest D.C. and one near the University of Maryland in College Park.”
Investigators say Mercado targeted young women living in off-campus shared residences, and he struck late at night or during the hours before dawn.
“In each case, Mercado likely identified his victims through stalking and peeping Tom activities,” said Detective Alexander Mac Bean with MPD.
Police say he’d pick intoxicated victims, usually as they walked home, and he’d wait till the victim was asleep to break in or get in through an unlocked door.
He came to be known as the “cuddler,” but the lead investigator in the case says that term belies the seriousness of the crimes he’s charged with and the harm the victims have suffered.
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“This man is a predator and his intent was not to cuddle these women, but instead his intent was to rape them,” Mac Bean said.
Police got DNA from the scenes. They couldn’t identify who it came from, but they knew it was from the same person.
Court documents show police homed in on Mercado through DNA profiles submitted to a consumer genealogy service.
It’s possible a relation of Mercado’s was creating a family tree, and police followed the branches as the cold case heated up fast.
They staked out Mercado's Arlington home, and on Monday they got a warrant for Mercado's DNA.
“We obtained that sample yesterday morning, submitted it for rapid DNA analysis — another tool that has only recently come into existence — and had a DNA match by early afternoon,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.
“The reward from a case like this is being able to tell a victim years later that we’ve identified the perpetrator that committed this crime,” Mac Bean said.
When Mercado was arrested, time was of the essence.
Investigators found that he may have been a rideshare driver. They considered the possibility that he could seek more victims through that work.
Police believe there could be victims they don’t know about, and they hope that by releasing pictures of mercado anyone else who’s had an encounter with him will come forward.
