Illegal Migrant Accused Of Raping Woman Along Hiking Trail In Sanctuary County Had History Of Prior Arrests

An illegal migrant accused of raping a woman on a popular hiking path in a Washington, D.C.-area suburb previously had been arrested and released multiple times by local law enforcement.

A woman walking home on Nov. 18 along the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Trail in Herndon, Virginia was attacked behind nearby bushes and raped by a man, according to an announcement from the Herndon Police Department. Police have accused 31-year-old Denis Humberto Navarette Romero for the crime, charging him with abduction with intent to defile and rape.

“The suspect brazenly grabbed the suspect and forced her to the ground where he proceeded to rape her,” Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard stated during a press conference. “The victim was able to fight off the suspect and run away. It was then she encountered a passerby who called 911 on behalf of that victim.”

Navarette Romero, a Honduran national, was located by police just “minutes later” in a nearby parking lot after interviews of the victim and witnesses.

Police revealed at the time of the announcement that the Honduran national has a criminal history spanning several years, with Police Chief DeBoard saying it was “disturbing” how many times he had been arrested and released. An investigation by a local news outlet has since shed more light on the suspect’s criminal history.

Navarette Romero has been accused of sex crimes in Washington, D.C., resisting arrest in Virginia and in Washington,D.C., and he’s been charged with battery, assault, using a stolen vehicle, trespassing, drinking and smoking marijuana in public, weapon violations, loitering and indecent exposure, according to