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District resident Ronald Berton, Jr, 48, was found guilty by a jury of sexually assaulting a 30-year-old woman in June 2010, federal authorities announced on Monday, Feb. 6, following a trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
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 suspect in the 2007 home invasion at the same apartment complex when he assaulted a sleeping 27-year-old woman.
He was convicted of the 2007 crimes in a March 2020 trial, where he was found guilty of kidnapping and first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances.
In this case, Berton was found guilty of:
- First-degree burglary;
- Kidnapping;
- First-degree sexual abuse with aggravated circumstances;
- Assault with intent to commit first-degree sexual abuse;
- Attempted 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.
Sentencing has been set for Friday, March 3, when he will face life in prison. If he is ever released from custody, he will also be required to register as a sex offender for life.
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