Local
Trans woman sexually assaulted near Dupont Circle
Report marks neighborhood’s seventh incident against LGBT people since June
A reported sexual assault against a transgender woman behind a building near Dupont Circle on Aug. 13 is the seventh incident of violence against LGBT people with a connection to the neighborhood since June 2, according to police reports.
Police said the latest incident occurred in an unspecified location in the rear of the 2000 block of P Street, N.W., in the early morning hours of Aug. 13, when a suspect approached the victim, whom police have not identified.
“The complainant reports that she was grabbed by the suspect who placed his hand over her mouth,” said Sgt. Carlos Mejia, supervisor of the police’s Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, in an e-mail to local LGBT activists.
“The suspect removed the complainant’s clothes and sexually assaulted the complainant,” Mejia said. “The suspect fled the area on foot. The complainant is a member of the transgender community.”
Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence, which was among the groups to receive Mejia’s e-mail, released the message Monday.
GLOV’s release came on the same day that court records became available showing that the man charged with murdering gay federal worker Delando King on Aug. 8 in D.C. had patronized at least one Dupont Circle gay bar on the night of the murder.
Court records show that Marcus McLean, 24, who is charged with premeditated first-degree murder while armed in connection with King’s stabbing death, was arrested Aug. 14 along the 2100 block of P Street, N.W., within a one-block radius of three gay bars.
Four earlier incidents involving attacks against gay men in the Dupont Circle area have been listed as bias-related assaults that involved anti-gay name calling when suspects attacked the victims. As of earlier this week, no arrests had been made in the five assaults. The fifth of the string of anti-gay bias attacks between June 2 and July 30 took place on Emmerson Street, N.W., outside the Dupont Circle area.
Police said none of the victims in the five assault cases received life-threatening injuries.
A law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the transgender victim in the sexual assault case knew the suspect and provided his identity to investigators with the police’s Sexual Assault Unit, which is investigating the case. According to the source, police listed the attack as an incident of first-degree sexual abuse, one of the most serious sexual offenses under the city’s criminal statutes.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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