A Hyattsville man is awaiting trial following his arrest May 6 for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman along Sligo Creek Trail that morning and for allegedly exposing himself along the trail months earlier, Maryland-National Capital Park Police said Saturday in a press release.
Anderson Omar Aguirre Lopez, 21, was arrested at 9:45 a.m. and charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, the release said. Police allege that earlier that morning, Aguirre Lopez groped a woman who was walking along Sligo Creek Trail near Sligo Creek Parkway and University Boulevard in Silver Spring.
According to digital court records, Montgomery County District Court Judge Karen Ferretti set a $10,000 personal bond for Aguirre Lopez’s release Monday. He has since posted bond and awaits a June 20 trial in District Court in Silver Spring.
A public defender representing Aguirre Lopez did not immediately respond to Bethesda Today’s request for comment Monday afternoon.
According to park police spokesperson Tracy Lieberman, the department already had an arrest warrant for Aguirre Lopez for other alleged indecent exposure incidents before his May 6 arrest. He is also facing charges of three counts of indecent exposure and public urination related to the warrant, according to charging documents.
Police officers were in the area when they were “made aware of the ‘grabbing incident’ along Sligo Creek Trail,” Lieberman wrote Monday in an email to Bethesda Today.
Lieberman said police determined Aguirre Lopez was a suspect for the indecent exposure using “several investigative measures,” which she did not elaborate on, and that he had been stopped previously by park police officers multiple times shortly after similar incidents were reported.
Detectives are looking into whether Aguirre Lopez has been involved in other sexual assault or indecent exposure incidents that have occurred along Sligo Creek Trail in recent months. They believe there may be other victims and ask anyone who has had interactions with Aguirre Lopez to contact the department, the release said.
Anyone with information can contact the park police tip line at 301-929-2748 or CrimeTips@mncparkpolice.org.
