Maryland Man Sentenced for 2007 Sexual Assault at Gunpoint

From Cody Telep. Follow him on Twitter @codywt, email him at cody[AT]borderstan.com.

Twenty-seven year old Colin L. Hatch of Capitol Heights, Maryland was sentenced to eight years in prison Friday for the sexual assault of a prostitute at gunpoint, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The incident occurred on November 17, 2007, after Hatch picked up the prostitute at 10th and K Streets NW and the two drove to an area near 10th and O Streets NW.

When the prostitute asked to be paid, Hatch pointed a handgun at her head and demanded free sex. The victim complied and was then allowed to leave the car unharmed. The victim later spotted Hatch in the area near where he picked her up, and police eventually stopped and arrested him in the 400 block of Eastern Avenue NE.

Hatch was originally convicted of first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, carrying a pistol without a license, and possession of an unregistered firearm in July 2008. However, after a successful appeal, some of these charges were thrown out. He pled guilty in March 2012 to attempted first-degree sexual assault and possessing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.

At the time of his arrest, Hatch had applied to be a police officer in Baltimore City. According to a 2008 report from Washington City Paper, he was just two weeks away from becoming an officer at the time of the incident.

Sexual abuse cases are fairly rare in Borderstan. Only 15 were reported in 2010 and 16 in 2011. Three sexual abuse incidents were reported in the first three months of 2012.

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