Washington, DC police have finally arrested a serial rapist suspect dubbed the Georgetown Cuddler 16 years after he began his reign of terror around the nations capital.
Ernesto Mercado, 54, was arrested on Tuesday and charged in connection with five rapes in the Georgetown area of Northwest Washington, D.C. beginning in 2008.
Police were looking for a suspect who broke into womens homes - near Georgetown and the University of Maryland College Park - while they slept then sexually assault them.
This earned him the nickname the Georgetown Cuddler or the College Park Cuddler - which the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) condemned at its press conference.
This man was a predator, and his intent was not to cuddle these women; his intent was to rape them, said MPD investigator Alexander MacBean.
Ernesto Mercado (pictured in 2019), 54, was arrested on Tuesday and charged in connection with five rapes in the Georgetown area beginning in 2008
The Metropolitan Police Department condemned the nickname the Georgetown Cuddler or the College Park Cuddler
Over the years, this term has only caused more harm to our victims.
Mercado was charged for sexual assaults on June 26, 2008; July 10, 2009; February 28, 2009; August 29, 2010 and August 31, 2012 in the DC area.
The victims said Mercado broke into their homes while they were sleeping and they woke up to him sexually assaulting them, then he would flee when they fought back.
Evidence testing in all five cases yielded the same male DNA profile which they connected to Mercado, according to police.
His DNA also matched a DNA profile for a separate offense that occurred just off the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park.
Thanks to DNA evidence from the rape kits of courageous survivors, improvements in DNA technology, and the tireless efforts of our law enforcement partners and our prosecutors, we were able to link these six rapes, said U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves.
Once we had a DNA profile of the suspect, the team used every forensic tool at its disposal, as well as old-fashioned detective work, to identify the person behind this DNA profile. That hard work led to yesterdays arrest of Ernesto Mercado.
Police were looking for a suspect who broke into womens homes while they slept then sexually assault them between 2008 and 2012
Mercado (pictured in 2010) has been remanded to jail until his hearing on October 10
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said the attacks shook our community for years.
For the past 16 years, our Sexual Assault Unit detectives have continued to follow-up on leads and connect the cases together – looking for patterns, evidence, and a suspect, said Smith.
We know that people often want answers right away in cases, but our detectives never gave up and todays announcement speaks to their unending commitment to bring justice to victims.
Mercado has been charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances and five counts of second-degree sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances.
The Washington Post reported his public defender argued that the husband and father of four, who works in cybertech, should be released pending trial, but a judge ordered him to be held in jail until his next hearing on October 10.