Man Found Guilty Of Armed Rape On Metro Train

SILVER SPRING, MD — A D.C. man was found guilty Tuesday of raping a woman at knife-point on a moving Metro train in April 2016.

John Prentice Hicks, 41, of Northeast, was found guilty of first-degree rape, first-degree sex offense and second-degree assault. He was found not guilty of first-degree assault, ABC 7 News reports.

Prosecutors said the rape occurred on April 12, 2016 on a Red Line train. The victim and Hicks were alone in the train car about 10 a.m. when he reportedly asked the woman if she had a boyfriend.

Hicks then showed a knife, dragged the woman to the back of the train car and raped her. Hicks forced the woman to perform oral sex as the train moved through the Forest Glen and Wheaton stations, prosecutors said.

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“I don’t know many people who would have thought this would have happened in such a public arena — and that somebody would have the audacity to do that, particularly at 10 a.m.,” Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Haynos said in court, according to The Washington Post.

Metro Transit Police arrested Hicks after the victim identified him from surveillance video. ABC 7 said DNA evidence also helped convict Hicks, as well as the victim identifying him as her attacker.

Prosecutors say that Hicks has three previous sexual offense convictions, including two against minors.

Photo via Metro Transit Police