Honduras Native Indicted On Mount Vernon Trail Sexual Assault

ALEXANDRIA, VA — A Honduran national is facing federal charges following a reported sexual assault on the Mount Vernon Trail in April, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Yefri Rolando Castellanos Sevilla was indicted by a grand jury on May 13 on charges of abusive sexual contact and possession of a fraudulent immigration document.

According to an affidavit filed by a U.S. Park Police investigator, the incident occurred on April 13 at around 2:45 p.m. A woman walking southbound near the trail’s tunnel reported she was approached by three males on electric scooters. The victim stated that after she rebuffed conversation advances from one individual, a scooter passed her and she felt a "very hard slap" on her left buttock.

Park Police investigators located three individuals matching the victim's description—Castellanos Sevilla, another man, and a juvenile — traveling on the trail adjacent to Reagan National Airport. During a "show-up" identification, the victim identified Castellanos Sevilla as the individual who had earlier attempted to speak with her, though she could not initially confirm who delivered the slap.

In a subsequent interview translated by an officer, Castellanos Sevilla initially denied the encounter but later "admitted that he had touched the woman," claiming it was an accident. According to the affidavit, he eventually "admitted that touching her butt was not an accident and that he wanted to do it," telling investigators he was "just being dumb".

A companion traveling with Castellanos Sevilla told police he "heard a loud sound consistent with a slap, immediately followed by a woman screaming," and noted that Castellanos Sevilla was "laughing" as they continued riding away.

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During the arrest, investigators recovered a counterfeit U.S. Permanent Resident card from Castellanos Sevilla. The card featured his photo but contained a name and birthdate that did not match his true identity, as well as a registration number belonging to another person. Castellanos Sevilla told investigators he purchased the forged document for $100 from a coworker at an Alexandria restaurant.

Federal records indicate Castellanos Sevilla is 18 or 19 years old, though he claimed to investigators his true birth year is 2007. Fingerprint records confirmed he was previously encountered by U.S. Border Patrol near El Paso, Texas, in July 2023.

The Mount Vernon Trail, where the incident occurred, is under the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States. Castellanos Sevilla faces up to two years in prison for the sexual contact charge and up to 10 years for the fraudulent document charge.