Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502130050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ARLINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Arlington Circuit Judge William T. Newman Jr. called the April 22 attack ``one of the most vicious cases of rape I have ever seen.''
Newman last week also sentenced Darnell J. Cameron, 16, to 70 years on related charges, including sodomy, burglary and robbery.
Under sentencing guidelines in effect at the time of his crime, he is likely to serve more than 30 years in prison. The judge told Cameron he normally was reluctant to send a teen-ager to prison for so long but was troubled that Cameron showed little remorse.
Cameron was awaiting a hearing for an alleged probation violation in Arlington Juvenile Court when he slipped out and went an apartment building in a nearby neighborhood, according to testimony.
When he saw the victim getting out of her car, he entered the building ahead of her, then got into her apartment by asking to use the telephone.
During the attack, Cameron held a knife to the woman's throat, beat her in the face and raped and sodomized her, at one time dragging her about the apartment by her back brace.
The woman continues to suffer medical problems from the attack, Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Barbara Walker said Friday.
After the attack, Cameron stole cash and the woman's car. He was arrested at the Army-Navy Country Club by police who saw him running from the stolen car, Walker said.
Walker said prosecutors tried Cameron as an adult and sought the maximum sentence because of the severity of the attack and the belief that he was likely to victimize others.
She noted that Cameron had stolen knives in previous burglaries and shown a pattern of violence toward women. Since his arrest, DNA evidence has linked him to a second sexual assault for which he awaits trial, Walker said.
Cameron, who pleaded guilty to the charges in November, was an abused child who had problems controlling aggression, according to a court-ordered psychiatric profile.
by CNB