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DC resident Ronald P. Berton, 48, will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being sentenced to life without the possible release, plus 27 years for a June 2010 home invasion and sexual assault.
Additionally, a judge gave him a second life sentence without the possibility of release for an October 2007 home invasion and sexual assault of a second woman.
Berton’s downfall came during an investigation into the 2010 sexual assault.
On June 12, 2010, Berton’s victim was sleeping in her ground-level apartment in Adams Morgan - the same location he previously targeted - when he entered her home and went into her bedroom, where he stood over her before striking.
The two were not known to each other.
The victim woke up and Berton restrained her and proceeded to sexually assault her, according to prosecutors. She was able to fight back and ran to a firehouse to report the incident, where a crime scene technician from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) was able to obtain Berton’s DNA from under her fingernails.
After the assault, officials say that Berton stole his victim’s phone and fled, similar to his MO in previous instances. He later used the stolen SIM card in a different handset to call an acquaintance approximately five hours after the attack.
Berton was developed as a suspect in the rape years later in 2017 when MPD’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit identified him as a potential suspect in the 2007 home invasion at the same apartment complex when he assaulted a sleeping 27-year-old woman.
“Every survivor deserves justice, and I’m pleased that, through the hard work of our officers, detectives, attorneys, and other law enforcement partners, our criminal justice system has delivered it to these two women,” Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee III said.
In the 2010 case, Berton was found guilty in February of:
- First-degree burglary;
- Kidnapping;
- First-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances;
- Assault with intent to commit first degree sexual abuse;
- Attempted first degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances.
In the 2007 case, Berton was found guilt in March of 2020, of kidnapping and first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances.
Officials noted that Berton also has a 2014 rape conviction in Arlington County, when, in September 2010, he entered the ground-level apartment of a woman who was sleeping and sexually assaulted her. After the assault, Berton stole two cell phones and a laptop and fled before being identified as the perpetrator through DNA.
“This sentence helps to ensure that a very dangerous sexual predator will not roam our streets,” US Attorney Matthew Graves said. “This office truly appreciates the courage it took for each survivor to come forward and testify about their ordeal in a courtroom full of strangers, particularly after so many years had passed.
“Their strength has undoubtedly saved others from falling prey to this serial offender.”
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