Thirty-nine-year-old John Prentice Hicks of Washington, D.C., has been charged with attempted first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and second-degree assault in connection with the April 12 incident.
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A judge ordered Hicks incarcerated without possible bond, and Haynos said evidence collected from the sex assault will lead to charges of first-degree rape rather than the attempted first-degree rape Hicks originally faced.
Court documents indicate the incident happened on April 12 around 10 a.m. when the woman awoke on the train near Fort Totten or Takoma and was attacked by a man with a knife.
Then, police say, Hicks made her sit in the corner of the train vehicle and assaulted her again.
Hicks forced the woman to perform oral sex as the train moved through the Forest Glen and Wheaton stations, prosecutors said.
As the train continued, the documents say, the man she identified as Hicks approached her and asked her questions such as, “Do you have a boyfriend?” and “Are you going to Glenmont?”
After the train reached the Glenmont Metro station, the victim said she was ordered to stay on the train while she saw the suspect leave the train and board another auto. He’s scheduled for a preliminary hearing on June 10.
Hicks is facing three charges including first degree rape and assault. At some point, a struggle over the knife left the victim with a cut to her finger, she said.
A warrant was issued for Hicks’ arrest later that day after he used his SmarTrip card to leave the Glenmont station after the alleged assault.
Detectives asked her how certain she was on a scale of one to ten that Hicks was the man who had attacked her.
Detectives showed the woman a mug shot of Hicks from a previous arrest as part of an array of photographs that included five other men. “Seven out of 10”, she said.
Kate Finley, an assistant public defender who represented Hicks in court Monday, asked Williams to set a bond for Hicks.
He was captured hours later, and the victim identified him as her attacker, police said.
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“His highest concern right now is to be able to get back to work”, she said.
