Local
Police seek help in solving male rape case
Victim abducted, assaulted by 8 suspects
The victim reported being abducted near the intersection of 14th Street and Parkwood Place. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)
D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying as many as eight suspects reportedly involved in the abduction and sexual assault of an adult male victim in Columbia Heights on Friday evening, July 31.
A statement released by police says that at approximately 8 p.m. on July 31 one of the suspects approached the victim near the intersection of 14th Street and Parkwood Place, N.W., and forced him at gunpoint into a white van.
A police incident report obtained by the Washington Blade says the same suspect and as many as seven other suspects “drove him around” in the van.
According to the report, the victim told police that while inside the van “Suspect 1 through Suspect 5 anally sexually assaulted him against his will and without his consent.”
The separate statement released by police on Aug. 2 says the incident has been listed as a first-degree sexual assault while armed (gun) and a kidnapping.
It describes the suspect believed to have forced the victim into the van as a Hispanic male, 6 feet one inch to 6 feet two inches tall, between 22 and 27 years of age with a slim build and short black curly hair, and armed with a gun.
A second suspect is described as an “unknown male, heavy set, 17 to 19 years of age” and having a light complexion.
The police incident report made available to the public identifies the victim only as being a white male of “Hispanic origin.”
A box on the incident report that asks the reporting officer whether the incident is a “suspected hate crime” was left blank. The reporting officer, Det. Douglas J. Carlson of the department’s Sexual Assault Unit, wrote the word “none” in a separate box that says, “Describe injury.”
A police source familiar with how police incident reports are prepared said the hate crime box is left blank when investigators don’t have sufficient evidence that an incident was a possible hate crime at the time the report was made. That assessment could change at any time during the course of an investigation as new evidence surfaces, the source said.
Neither the police statement nor the incident report discloses the victim’s age or whether he identifies as gay, straight, bisexual or transgender.
The area surrounding the 14th Street and Parkwood Place intersection, where the victim was abducted, includes numerous shops and restaurants that cater mostly to a Latino clientele.
Police are asking anyone who has information that might be helpful to their investigation into the incident to call police at 202-727-9099. The police statement says an award of up to $1,000 is being offered for tips that lead to an arrest and conviction in the case.
Virginia
Black transgender woman murdered in Va.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray killed in Petersburg on March 13
A Black transgender woman was murdered in Petersburg, Va., on March 13.
Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Mable, was a drag queen who won the Miss Mayflower EOY pageant in 2015. Reports also indicate she was a well-known community activist in Virginia and in North Carolina.
Local media reports indicate police officers found Sanchez-McCray, 42, shot to death inside a home in Petersburg. These initial media reports also misgendered her.
“My heart is shattered and heavy with grief at the news of Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray’s murder — the first trans life stolen from us this year,” said Victoria Kirby York, director of public policy and programs for the National Black Justice Coalition, in a statement.
Kirby York in her statement also criticized the media coverage of Sanchez-McCray’s murder.
“The early reports of Shyyell’s death stripped her of her identity by misgendering her, a deeply damaging and persistent failure by law enforcement and media that haunts these cases again and again,” she said. “Misgendering doesn’t just erase a person’s truth — it can derail justice entirely, or worse, bury a case in silence as investigators chase the wrong identity, the wrong face, the wrong name.”
Authorities have not made any arrests.
The Petersburg Bureau of Police has asked anyone with information about Sanchez-McCray’s murder to call Petersburg-Dinwiddie Crime Solvers at 804-861-1212.
District of Columbia
Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Rally on the National Mall scheduled for Saturday
The Christopher Street Project has a number of events planned for the 2026 Trans Day of Visibility, including a rally on the Mall and an “Empowerment Ball” at the Eaton Hotel. Plenaries, panel discussions and meetings with members of Congress are scheduled in the three days of programming.
Announced speakers include N.H. state Rep. Alice Wade; Commissioner of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago Precious Brady-Davis; activist and performer Miss Peppermint (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”); Lexington, Ky. Councilwoman Emma Curtis; Rabbi Abby Stein; D.C. activist and host Rayceen Pendarvis; Air Force Master Sgt. Logan Ireland; among other leaders, advocates and performers.
Conference programming on Thursday and Friday includes an educational forum and a Capitol Hill policy education day. Registration for the two-day conference has closed.
The “Trans Day of Visibility PAC Reception” is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 from 7:30-9 p.m. at As You Are (500 8th St., S.E.). Special guests include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nevada) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.). Tickets are available at christopherstreetproject.org starting at $25.
The National Council of Jewish Women and the Christopher Street Project host a “Trans Day of Visibility Shabbat” on Friday, March 27 from 7-8 p.m. at Sixth & I (600 I St., N.W.). The service is to be led by Rabbi Jenna Shaw and Rabbi Abby Stein.
The “Now You See Me: Trans Empowerment Social & Ball” is scheduled for Friday, March 27 from 6-11 p.m. at the Eaton Hotel (1201 K. St., N.W.). The trans-themed drag ball is hosted by the Marsha P. Johnson Institute with support from the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs, the Capital Ballroom Council, the Christopher Street Project, the Center for Black Equity, Generation for Common Good, and Parenting is Political. RSVP online at christopherstreetproject.org.
The National Transgender Day of Visibility Rally is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 on the National Mall at 11 a.m. The rally will include speakers and performances. Following the rally, attendees are encouraged to participate in the “No Kings” rally being held at Anacostia Park.
Virginia
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Voters in November will consider repealing marriage amendment
The Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ended on March 14.
Lawmakers have yet to approve a budget, but they did pass a resolution that paves the way for a referendum on whether to repeal the state’s constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Lawmakers also advanced House Bill 60, which would protect PrEP users from insurance discrimination.
Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has until April 13 to decide to pass, amend, or veto legislation before it goes back to the House of Delegates on April 22.
Spanberger on Feb. 6 signed the bill that sets the stage for the marriage amendment referendum. Voters will consider whether to “remove the ban on same-sex marriage; (ii) affirm that two adults may marry regardless of sex, gender, or race; and (iii) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law?”
Equality Virginia has been working during this legislative cycle to urge lawmakers to allocate funding towards LGBTQ rights. The budget would expand funding for schools, competency training for the 988 suicide hotline, and funding to provide gender affirming care to LGBTQ youth.
“As the budget moves through conference and the Reconvene Session approaches on April 22, Equality Virginia remains focused on ensuring our victories this session translate into durable protections,” Equality Virginia Executive Director Narissa Rahaman told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Progress on marriage equality, nondiscrimination protections, and HIV care funding was essential, but Virginia must do more.”
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