Police: Pregnant Woman Raped While Seeking Financial Assistance

A woman told Arlington County police this week that she was raped in January — and that she was 30 weeks pregnant at the time.

The baby has since been born and is healthy, police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said.

"She was scared," Sternbeck said when asked why the woman waited to report the attack. "That's a common trait we see amongst rape victims: They're extremely scared after the fact and hesitant to report it."

In January, the woman said went to a residence in the 3800 block of Columbia Pike to see a man.

She considered him a friend at the time, Sternbeck said. 

The woman was looking for financial assistance, Sternbeck said. She needed help getting her older daughter into this country, he said.

The woman went into the man's bathroom. When she came out, he took her in his bedroom, locked the door, held her against her will and raped her, Sternbeck said.

Police have only a general description of the man: He is approximately 5 feet tall and heavyset.

Sternbeck did not what country the victim or her daughter were originally from. He would not say the victim's age.