Man arrested more than a decade after a series of rapes near college campuses in D.C

WASHINGTON – D.C. police announced Wednesday the arrest of a man suspected in a series of sexual assaults in off-campus apartments more than a decade ago.

At the time of the attacks, the unknown suspect was referred to as the “Georgetown Cuddler,” but police say the victims were raped.

The Metropolitan Police Department has a division that investigates sexual assault cases. Now these investigators have finally put a man behind bars for violent crimes committed between 2008 and 2012. FOX 5 is told their diligent work combined with new DNA matching technology contributed to this arrest.

For years, police have known that the same suspect was responsible for five rapes at off-campus apartments near Georgetown and one near the University of Maryland, but until recently they didn't know who that suspect was.

Now 54-year-old Ernesto Mercado of Arlington has been charged with brutal sexual assault. Police said Mercado would seek out potential victims, sneak into their homes while they were sleeping, rape them and then flee as soon as they woke up.

Mercado was charged with eight counts of sexual abuse in the D.C. cases. Investigators are still urging anyone who may recognize Mercado to come forward as they continue to investigate cold cases.

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Detective Alexander MacBean has been working on this case for about ten years. He declined to comment on conversations with victims in those cases, but told FOX 5.

“The reward of a case like this is being able to tell the victim years later that we have identified the perpetrator who committed this crime and that we will do everything we can to hold that person accountable.” said MacBean.

Charging documents show that police have been tracking Mercado for weeks, monitoring his movements and working to take DNA swabs to confirm the match without his knowledge.

Just last Monday, police obtained a search warrant to obtain a DNA swab from Mercado. They tested it and thanks to the new technology there was a match again on Tuesday.

Police made the arrest at his home on Tuesday evening. Mercado is currently being held without bail in the DC Jail.