Maryland

Maryland Man Accused of Multiple Assaults in Montgomery County

A North Bethesda man has been arrested and charged in at least two sex offenses that occurred in October 2017 and January 2019, police said.

Austin Blaine Vann, 29, is charged with multiple counts of attempted rape and one charge of rape after he was linked to one attempted rape in 2017 and one rape in 2019 in Montgomery County, Maryland, the county's Department of Police said Friday.

The two victims each said Vann deceived them and assaulted them in the area of the 11500 block of Old Georgetown Road in North Bethesda.

The first victim said that she met Vann at a party in July 2017, when she left some belongings in Vann's car. She said she contacted Vann to pick those items up and said Vann met her at her home, telling her she needed to go to his apartment with him to pick up her belongings.

The victim then walked to the door of the apartment and waited there while Vann entered to get the items, when she said he pulled her into the apartment, assaulted her and attempted to rape her, according to police.

Police said Vann left the area after the assault and was later arrested in California on March 1, 2018 and extradited to Maryland.

Vann was then charged with attempted first degree rape, attempted second degree rape, first degree assault, second degree assault and a fourth degree sex offense. He was released on bond.

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But police said Vann was the suspect behind another sex offense that occurred in January, while he was awaiting trial for his first offense.

A second victim said she met a man named "Austin" at a restaurant in North Bethesda on Jan. 8 when Vann sexually assaulted her.

According to that victim, she had communicated with Vann on social media and through text messages before meeting him at the restaurant bar. There, she left her drink unattended several times when going to the restroom and later found herself in a bathroom in an apartment building where Vann was raping her, police said.

According to police, the victim did not remember leaving the bar and did not know where she was when she found Vann raping her.

Police said they identified Vann as the man the victim met at the bar and he was arrested and charged with second degree rape on March 25.

Police said Vann is currently committed at the Montgomery County Detention Center while awaiting trial, and investigators say they are concerned that Vann may have other victims.

Police ask anyone with information to call 240-773-5400.

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