Man Pleads Guilty To Raping, Choking Woman At Knifepoint: Harford County Prosecutor

ABERDEEN, MD — An Aberdeen man has pleaded guilty to the first-degree rape of a woman he assaulted and strangled at knifepoint in an abandoned building.

Tavon Isaiah Harvey, 20, pleaded guilty in three separate cases. On Dec. 30, 2022, the victim reported a rape to the Aberdeen Police Department. The investigation revealed that Harvey assaulted the victim during a two-hour period from midnight to 2 a.m. The rape happened inside an abandoned building at 18 N. Law Street in Aberdeen. Harvey held the victim at knifepoint during the rape and also strangled her. The victim was able to escape when another person entered the abandoned house, distracting Harvey, according to court documents.

The victim identified Harvey via an MVA photograph and reported seeing Harvey watch her walk into the police precinct that morning wearing the same clothes, a distinctive red sweatsuit. Harvey was Mirandized and gave several conflicting versions of events, including that he had not seen the victim and only knew her in passing, the prosecution stated.

A sexual assault forensic exam was conducted, documenting injuries and bruising consistent with the victim’s recollection of events. DNA evidence also was collected during the SAFE exam, which confirmed Harvey’s identity as the assailant.

In the other two cases, Harvey pled guilty to one count of an inmate causing contact with bodily fluid and entered into an admission to violating probation for a prior conviction for second-degree assault.

On April 8 while being held at the Harford County Detention Center awaiting trial, Harvey used empty bottles from his shower items to collect fecal matter, which he then sprayed over the bars and walls of the day room during shift change. Responding deputies and correctional officers had to decontaminate the area.

Pursuant to the plea agreement in the first-degree rape case, the state will be arguing for a sentence of life suspend all but 85 years of active incarceration to serve.

“Harford County has no place for violent criminal offenders like Tavon Harvey. The egregious acts that were perpetrated upon his victim in the rape case were nothing short of horrific. It is my sincere hope that the first-degree rape conviction will give the victim some relief that justice was served as she closes this chapter and begins to heal. Mr. Harvey’s blatant disregard for others as demonstrated in all three of these cases sends a clear message that he should be removed from our community for as much of the remainder of his life as possible, if not all of it, so he cannot continue to harm the citizens of our community. Our office continues to repeatedly send the message that we will not tolerate criminal behavior in Harford County," said State’s Attorney Alison M. Healey.