law enforcement

Pregnant Woman Shoved in the Stomach by ‘Serial Groper' in Logan Circle, Police Say

The suspect has been arrested more than 70 times in his life and is now back on the streets.

A pregnant woman was shoved repeatedly in the stomach while out for a walk in Logan Circle, police said.

The suspect, Michael Hilliard, is a homeless man who has been arrested more than 70 times for more than 300 charges, including sexual assault and kidnapping.

Police called him a “serial groper.”

In 2017, Hilliard was accused of groping three women in Logan Circle. He was arrested but released from jail the next day and ordered to undergo a mental evaluation. Two weeks later, he was accused of groping another woman.

“This individual has been committing these offensives for more than two decades," D.C. police Lt. John Haines told News4 in 2017. "He has more than 70 arrests; 20 or more for sexual offenses.”

“For us, it's frustrating," Haines said. "We're locking people up over and over, but they're recommitting within a day or two.”

Hilliard has been released again and is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 21. News4 has reached out to the U.S. attorney's office for comment.

People in Logan Circle said they can’t understand why Hilliard keeps being released from jail.

Alissa Calloway, who works in the area, said she always thought of Logan Circle as a safe neighborhood.

“I was shook,” Calloway said.

Another woman, Audrey Small, was equally disturbed.

“That’s really, really sad. That’s horrible and should never happen to anyone,” Small said. “And, I mean, it’s scary.”

Two homeless men who sell newspapers in the area, Chad Jackson and Rick Ingram, said they feel protective of residents.

“You don’t put your hands on a pregnant woman,” Ingram said. “He knows that ... period.”

Jackson said Hilliard should never put his hands on a woman at all, and that he would intervene if he saw it happen again.

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