The man charged with raping a woman in Herndon on Monday (Nov. 18) had been sentenced to jail less than a week earlier, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office says.
Denis Humberto Navarette Romero, 31, was previously arrested by Herndon Police for a separate incident and brought to the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center on Oct. 20, according to the sheriff’s office.
After pleading guilty to indecent exposure, Navarette Romero was given a 50-day jail sentence on Nov. 13 for the misdemeanor charge with no time suspended, Fairfax County General District Court records show.
However, Virginia law allows early releases for individuals who have been sentenced to 12 months or less for a misdemeanor if they earn credits for good behavior. One credit is awarded for each day served, including any jail time prior to sentencing, so the individual would only need to serve half of their sentence.
“Mr. Romero began serving his sentence on November 13, but the time he had already spent in the ADC on that charge — since October 20 — was credited toward the 25 days,” the sheriff’s office told FFXnow. “Therefore, on November 14, he had served 25 days and was released.”
The Herndon Police Department arrested Navarette Romero again on Tuesday (Nov. 19) after a woman reported that she had been raped while walking on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail Monday night. Police say he was identified as the suspect based on interviews with the woman and witnesses, and he had items belonging to the victim when he was questioned by detectives.
Romero has been charged with rape and abduction with the intent to defile. He remains in custody at the county jail and faces a preliminary hearing on March 5, 2025.
At a press briefing on Monday, Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard said this is the first rape case involving a suspect who’s a stranger to the victim that she has seen in her 12-plus years as the town’s chief of police.
According to DeBoard, Navarette Romero has “a documented history of sexual assault and exposures” in the D.C. region, dating back to 2022. Other than the Oct. 19 indecent exposure, the only other case in Fairfax County court records is a civil violation on July 26, 2022 for smoking marijuana in public, which also occurred in the Town of Herndon.
Thomas Koerner, the defense attorney representing Navarette Romero, said he’s unable to comment on the case at this time, noting that it remains “early in the process.”
