Michael F. Thomson was arrested on December 1, 2020 and charged with a series of sexual assaults that took place in 1991 in Arlington, Virginia. These attacks were part of a larger series of rapes and attempted rapes perpetrated against females walking alone from the East Falls Church Metro Station, who were abducted and threatened them with a firearm.
On January 17, 1991 at about 6:00 pm in the evening a woman left the Metro Station and was kidnapped by a man with a firearm. He forced her into a grassy area between two homes and sexually assaulted her. The next assault took place on February 13, 1992 at about 7:40 pm when another woman leaving the Metro was attacked in a similar fashion. On March 6, 1991 at about 10:00 pm, the assailant put a gun to the head of a woman and forced her to remove her clothing. He then asked her if she wanted him to leave. When she said yes, he fled without assaulting her.
On December 2, 1991, another woman was attacked at about 7:08 pm in the evening. When she screamed, the man fled, dropping his baseball cap. DNA was recovered from the cap and matched to the other two cases.
The FGG investigation was conducted by Parabon Nanolabs.
On Friday February 11, Thomson pled guilty and in Arlington County Circuit Court and was sentenced to life in prison plus 56 years.
Sources:
ARLnow.com Staff. “Just In: Man Arrested for 30-Year-Old Rape Cold Cases.” ARLnow.com, December 2, 2020. Accessed December 27, 2020. https://www.arlnow.com/2020/12/02/just-in-man-arrested-for-30-year-old-rape-cold-cases/?fbclid=IwAR3lxN3QHZbIRSyIzLniMuqFQzywQRobiCSMnErf4o4aukXlfpJfnt_oyoY.
Fox 5 DC Digital Team. “Virginia Man, Who Raped a Teenager and a Young Mother in 1991, Sentenced to Life in Prison.” Fox 5 News DC, February 16, 2022. Accessed February 19, 2022. https://www.fox5dc.com/news/virginia-man-who-raped-a-teenager-and-a-young-mother-in-1991-sentenced-to-life-in-prison.
O’Connell, Michael. “Cold Case Arrest: VA Man Charged in 1991 Rapes, Abductions.” Patch, December 2, 2020. Accessed December 27, 2020. https://patch.com/virginia/arlington-va/cold-case-arrest-va-man-charged-1991-rapes-abductions-0.
Pascale, Jordan. “Arlington Police Arrest Man Suspected in Series of 30-Year-Old Rape Cases.” DCist, December 2, 2020. Accessed December 27, 2020. https://dcist.com/story/20/12/02/arlington-police-arrest-cold-case-rape-falls-church-metro/.