Evening star., 1941-08-11
AssauItCase
Indictment 10
Be Asked Today
Suspect Confesses
Attack on Girl
In Park Here

pared to lay before the grand jury
today the case of 34-year-
colored man who police said had
confessed criminal assault of a Is
year-old girl near Rock Greek Ford
road and Sixteenth street NV.
last Wednesday morning.
According 10 announcement from
Assistant United States Attorney
John w. Fihelly, the case was to
be presented to the jury some time
today, less than "a hours after the
prisoner admitted the attack.
The suspect was formally charged
with criminal assault this afternoon
and his wife was held as a Govern
ment witness under 81 900 bond.
The police have done their part
and the district attorneys Office
will carry on in Immediately pre-
senting the case to the grand jury
Mr.. Fihelly said This is the type
of case that demands speedy JUS
tice.'
If the jury returns true bill. he
added, it will be handed down with
tomorrow's indictments. The case,
however, cannot come to trial before
next month, when criminal courts
now in recess will reconvene for the
fall term.
Capt. Ira E. Keck, acting chief
of detectives, announced that the
confession came after 10 hours of
grilling during which the prisoner.
arrested in Maryland Friday, was
confronted with a mass of circum-
stantial evidence he was unable to
refute.
The man, booked by police as
William Isaac Robinson of the 1900
block of Irving street NV, later
repeated his confession before the
girl and her father, a Government
official They were summoned to
sixth precinct station after the sus-
pect had broken down. police said.
and had muttered, We'll, I might
as well tell you all about it."
Victim Breaks Down.
AS they left the station after
listening to the confession, the
young victim burst into tears. 1t
was the second time she had viewed
the suspect. At a special police
lineup Saturday morning, she sin
gled him out as the guilty person,
but said she was not absolutely
certain" she was right.
Robinson was picked up by De-
tective Sergts. John Cation and
George w. Cook and Precinct De-
tective H. E. Moore as he applied
| for his pay at construction job
near Silver Spring, from which he
had been discharged Tuesday. the
dav before the attack. A tip from
a man employed on the job. who
recognized the similarity of the
prisoner to the general description
of the attacker given Wednesday.
placed police on his trail
Details of Confession.
Capt Keck said the prisoner told
the girl during the time she con-
fronted him at sixth precinct: Il
am sorry 1 did you wrong. I was
all drunk"
In his confession. Robinson told
police that he left the construction
job on Colesville pike, beyond Silver
Spring, at $3.50 pm. Tuesday and.
en- route home, bought two pints of
wine at liquor store at Alaska
avenue and Kalmia road NV. He
said he drank half of one of the
! pints and hid the remainder at
home.
AT 8 am. Wednesday, he related,
he scanned a newspaper and found
two advertisements for a job as
janitor, one at 1921 Rhode Island
avenue NV. and the other at 5051
New Hampshire avenue NV, the
addresses of which he got his wife
to write for him on slip of paper.
Before breakfast, he said, he drank
a pint of the wine.
After he had eaten. he continued,
he put the remaining half pint of
wine in his shirt and left home,
wearing pair of brown pants, tan
shirt and sun helmet, items of
clothing mentioned in the gen.
eral description broadcast of the
attacker.
Drank Last of Wine.
He said he drank the last Of the
wine in an alley at Fourteenth and
Irving streets NV. and then went
to the Rhode Island avenue address
and was interviewed for the job.
From there. he told police, he
walked to Sixteenth and r streets
NV. and took bus to Sixteenth
and Fort Stevens drive.
Robinson related that he had gone
only about 80 steps away from the
bus when he saw the girl and asked
her about the New Hampshire
avenue address. He said she told
him it was not in that neighborhood.
Il then grabbed her around the
neck he continued, land pulled
her about so feet into the woods of
Rock Greek Ford road"
He said the girl asked him while
he was tying her hands behind her
back what he was going to do and
that he replied, I'm not going to
hurt you" He added that he then
COVcIcU llcI ldCc dLlu dtIdShOu AiCi'
AS he prepared to leave, he re-
called, he turned the girl over or
her face and told her not to leave
for 80 minutes, "or I'll come back
and kill you"
"I did not have any wine with
me-" he said, and I didn't
attack her a second time"
Returned to His Home.
After leaving her, he further re-
lated to police. he threw his helmet
over an embankment into Sixteenth
street and boarded a bus to Four
teenth and Colorado avenue NV.
where he took a street car that car
ried him to his home. He arrived
about noon, he added, and imme-
diately washed himself and his un-
derwear.
Police said that Robinson's wife
had told them that her husband had
threatened to kill her II she men
toned anything about his where
abouts or his clothing. She further
reported, they said, that she had
commented on 1.-The terrible crime"