Woman Raped, Assaulted At Gunpoint By Edgewood Man She Offered A Ride To: Prosecutor

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — A 40-year-old Edgewood man faces life in prison after he was convicted of nine charges, including first-degree rape, for sexually assaulting a woman who works as a driver and gave him a ride, Harford County prosecutors said.

Devon Allen Odell Scott was convicted Feb. 13 at trial in the Circuit Court for Harford County, according to a news release.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office investigated the case and charged Scott with sexually assaulting a 28-year-old woman gave him with a ride from Baltimore to the Edgewood area on Aug. 5, 2019. The victim testified that Scott flagged her down for a ride in Baltimore; she said she sometimes works as an unlicensed taxi service in her personal vehicle to earn extra money.

During the trip, Scott refused to provide a specific house number or road as his destination, but asked to be taken to the Edgewood area. Once in Edgewood, Scott told the victim to pull over to a secluded road and pulled out a gray semiautomatic handgun, telling the victim that he was not going to kill her, but she had to perform oral sex on him.

Prosecutors said Scott took money from the victim, as well as her driver’s license, cell phone and keys. He then forced her to perform a sex act at gunpoint, and hit her in the head and face with his hands.

The woman was also forced to view pornographic videos on her cell phone during the attack. Scott told the victim to wait 10 minutes before leaving and said he would throw her belongings out at a nearby stop sign.

Scott was identified by the victim in a photo lineup, as well as by a positive latent fingerprint match from inside the victim’s vehicle and DNA evidence tied to the sexual assault.

Authorities said Scott is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior convictions in Baltimore City for armed robbery and robbery.

The state's attorney said Scott was convicted of first-degree rape, armed robbery, first-degree assault, use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence, illegal possession of a regulated firearm by a prohibited person, wearing/carrying/or transporting a handgun in a vehicle, false imprisonment, indecent exposure and theft $100 to $1,500.

Scott faces up to life in prison for first-degree rape, 25 years for armed robbery due to the filing of enhanced penalties, 25 years for first-degree assault, 20 years for use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence with the first five years being mandatory without the possibility of parole, 5 years for illegal possession of a regulated firearm by a prohibited person, 3 years for wearing, carrying or transporting a handgun in a vehicle, and 3 years for indecent exposure. The remaining counts will merge into the other counts for purposes of sentencing.

“My office is repeatedly proving to our citizens that we will fulfill our promise to hold violent offenders accountable. We will continue to work vigorously to incarcerate violent predators for as long as possible and remove them from our community. There are not adequate words to express the bravery the victim in this case demonstrated by reporting this horrific crime and testifying at trial in this case," said State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey.