Cobb District Attorney Vic Reynolds announces that a teenager who raped one young woman and tried to rape another in separate incidents will spend decades in prison.
Rome DaQuie McDowell, 17, admitted that on Dec. 26, 2015, about 2 a.m., he climbed through a window into a home on Rock Creek Court. He went to a bedroom and attacked a sleeping 16-year-old girl, threatening to shoot her if she did not comply. He repeatedly sexually assaulted her and also stole money from her, finally fleeing when she was able to scream for help and police were called.
In the second instance just over 24 hours later, McDowell climbed through a window into a home on Horseshoe Creek Drive about 4 a.m. on Dec. 27. He again went into the bedroom of a female, woke her up, and committed sexual battery against her, while holding her down at one point. That victim, 18, also screamed, causing him to flee. Cobb Police quickly located McDowell riding a bicycle nearby and wearing the same clothes as described by the victim.
Neither victim knew McDowell, and in both cases, the victim’s family members were also at home.
Earlier this month, McDowell pleaded guilty to all charges from both incidents, including rape, aggravated sodomy, false imprisonment, burglary, sexual battery and theft.
ADA Lindsay Gardner, who prosecuted the case, said McDowell “is the definition of a predator, lurking in the night, preying on teenagers who are asleep in their beds. Every man, woman, child and teenager in this community deserves to feel safe at home and not worry about a person breaking in and sexually assaulting family members. Hopefully this sentence will allow the victims and their families to rest a little easier, knowing the Defendant is no longer down the street.”
Had the case gone to trial, Gardner would have presented evidence of McDowell’s juvenile history of committing peeping tom offenses in California.
On Monday, Cobb Superior Court Judge Gregory Poole sentenced McDowell to life plus 30 years to serve in custody.
Judge Poole commented that this is a parent’s worst nightmare.
“As you’re sleeping in what you think is a safe home, a monster crawls through the window and molests your child. … I don’t know what all lead you to this, but you’ve become a monster. This is one of the worst cases of sexual assault that I’ve seen, because it was so violent and so random. Life sentences in non-death cases are unusual, but you need to be removed from society,” Judge Poole said.
Marietta attorney Adelle Petersen represented the defendant, who has been in custody since his arrest Dec. 27.
