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In February, Whiteford resident Earl Samuel Jones, 44, pleaded guilty to the first-degree rape of a 36-year-old woman at a Red Roof Inn in Aberdeen in September 2022.
According to the state's attorney's office, on Sept. 12, 2022, police were called to the motel when a woman reported being asleep in a room when she was awoken by a naked man she did not know after her boyfriend left the door open to use the vending machine.
"The victim was awoken by the naked suspect, who grabbed her by the throat and began strangling her," prosecutors said.
She described the suspect as a thin white male with short hair and a distinctive black curvy line tattoo on the side of his torso.
"The suspect threatened to kill her if she screamed, penetrated her vaginally, attempted to penetrate her anally, and forced her to perform fellatio," the state's attorney added.
Police issued an alert on social media following the incident, and a tipster led investigators to identify Jones as a suspect, which was confirmed by his wife.
"Jones’s wife contacted Det. Lightner, identifying the pictures released on social media as her husband, provided Jones’ clothing, which matched what was worn on the video, and his cell phone," investigators said.
Further analysis also confirmed Jones as the contributor to the DNA found inside the victim.
Additionally, the victim drew a rendition of the distinctive cursive tattoo on the suspect’s torso, which closely resembled the tattoo Jones had at arrest.
Last week, prosecutors requested a sentence of life in prison for Jones, with all suspended with 60 years to serve, over the state's Sentencing Guidelines, which call for a term between 18 and 25 years.
The judge ultimately sentenced to Jones to life with all but 50 years suspended, followed by five years of supervised probation.
He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
"This victim lived through every woman’s worst nightmare," State's Attorney Alison Healey said after the sentencing hearing. "Asleep, attacked, and violated in the most horrific of ways, and now she is forced to forever live with the trauma of what Earl Jones did to her that September night.
"I applaud her bravery in presenting her impact statement to the court in sentencing and for her involvement with the investigation and prosecution of this case.
"This is another example of the aggressive and relentless manner in which my office will pursue above-guidelines sentences to seek justice for victims of violent crime.”
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