Man Accused of Groping Women in DC Has Been Arrested More Than 70 Times, Police Say

A man who has been arrested twice this month for groping women in D.C. has a lengthy record that includes more than 70 arrests for a multitude of crimes, police say.

D.C. police arrested 57-year-old Michael Hilliard on Jan. 13 for allegedly groping women in three separate incidents in the Logan Circle area a few days before.

"This individual has been committing these type of offenses for two decades. He has over 70 arrests, 20 of them for sex offenses," said D.C. Police Lt. John Haines, who heads the sexual assault unit.

Hilliard, who police said is homeless, walked out of D.C. Superior Court the day after he was arrested, according to court records. Charged with three counts of misdemeanor sexual abuse, he was ordered to undergo a mental evaluation and come back to court on Feb. 2.

But Hilliard's next trip to the courthouse came much sooner. Police said he was arrested again for groping a woman who was walking in the 1600 block of 7th St. NW early Wednesday morning. Hilliard was taken into custody a short distance away after the woman called police.

"For us, it can be extremely frustrating. We're doing our part trying to protect the community, trying to keep people from re-offending and committing these types of crimes and then ... someone is arrested and they're back out and re-committing within a day or two,"  Haines said.

Hilliard has been ordered to remain in jail this time until his next court hearing, scheduled for Friday.

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Haines said investigators believe there could be more victims and are urging them to call police at (202) 727-3700.

D.C. police would not release a photo of Hilliard. The department has a longstanding policy not to release mugshots of suspects who are already in custody.

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