Repeat Sex Offender Gets Sentenced for an Attack on a Stranger in the Victim’s Home

WASHINGTON – Niko Cherry, 34, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today in Superior Court to 30 months in prison for the sexual assault of a stranger. This sentence will run consecutive to a 64-month sentence Cherry received on April 9^th for an assault in August of 2024. The sentences were announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

            On December 20, 2024, Cherry pleaded guilty to one count of attempted second-degree burglary and one count of fourth-degree sexual abuse for the August 3, 2024 assault. On April 9, 2025, he was sentenced for that assault and, today, he was sentenced for a probation violation in connection with a previous sexual assault for a total prison term of 94 months. Cherry must also serve five years of supervised release and register for life as a sex offender in the District of Columbia.

            According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 1:00 a.m. on August 3, 2024, the victim was awakened by an unknown individual when she felt something against her left thigh, which she realized was his erect penis. She then felt the person’s body pressing against the back of her. She jumped out of bed and went into her bathroom. When she came out, the defendant was gone and the door was ajar. The following Sunday morning, the victim received flowers with a note that said, “cuddle buddy” and “text me!” with a particular number. She then reported what had occurred to the police on August 5, 2024. An undercover officer started communication in September with that number, Cherry replied around September 15, 2024, corroborating some details of the assault. The defendant agreed to meet up with the victim on October 10, 2024, and was arrested on probable cause. The defendant’s GPS monitor, which he was required to wear as a condition of his release related to his prior conviction, tracked him following the victim to her house, returning to his home, and then returning about a half hour later to her home and leaving her home about an hour and a half after that.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Martin and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Victim Advocate Lezlie Richardson, Supervisory Information Technology Specialist Leif Hickling, who worked on various exhibits for the case, and Interns Youssef Wahba and Haniyyah Zia, of the Sexual Offense and Domestic Violence Unit.

            Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Kelley of the Sex Offense and Domestic Violence Section, who prosecuted the case.