DC Man Sentenced To Life In Prison For 2018 Rape In Arlington

ARLINGTON, VA — An Arlington judge sentenced a D.C. man to life in prison for a rape that occurred in 2018 in an apartment building on Columbia Pike.

Salodus Zeloter Hicks, 63, who was found guilty by an Arlington County jury in September, was sentenced to an additional 12 months on the charge of assault and battery. The conviction was Hicks' second rape conviction.

“I’m grateful to the survivor for her courage in testifying against her attacker, and to the police and our trial team for their dedication in investigating and prosecuting the case,” Commonwealth's Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said in a statement Wednesday.

Dehghani-Tafti said the life sentence was warranted because Hicks had been previously convicted of rape in a separate case.

“Our duty first, last, and always is to protect the community from the sort of harm Mr. Hicks caused while affording him a fair trial, and we did that,” she said.

The incident occurred in the afternoon of Sept. 17, 2018. Shortly after 4 p.m. on that day, Arlington police responded to the 5500 block of Columbia Pike for the report of a rape.

Police learned that the victim and Hicks had made contact through an online advertisement for massage therapy. After Hicks arrived for the massage appointment, he asked for sexual services and when the victim refused, he strangled and raped her, police said.

Hicks fled the scene, but his image was captured on a surveillance video. Police were later able to identify Hicks as the suspect. On Sept. 26, 2018, detectives attempted to arrest Hicks at his D.C. residence in the 3300 block of Mt. Pleasant Street NW.

Hicks refused to leave his home, which began a 16-hour barricade situation. Hicks eventually surrendered and was taken into police custody with assistance from the FBI's Washington Field Office and Metropolitan Police Department.

Once in custody, a search warrant was executed and additional evidence linking Hicks to the rape was recovered at his home, police said.