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D.C. dentist pleads guilty to sexually assaulting male patients

Victims were abused while under anesthesia

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Bilal AhmedA former D.C. dentist pleaded guilty on May 15 to sexually assaulting five male patients and one male employee at his dental office at 3211 M St., N.W., between 2010 and 2014.

In a 13-page plea bargain agreement filed by prosecutors in D.C. Superior Court, Bilal Ahmed, 44, affirmed that he fondled the penises of the five male patients after administering nitrous oxide anesthesia to the patients through a facemask.

Ahmed, whose D.C. dental license was suspended in 2014, asked four of the five patients whom he admitted to sexually assaulting “intrusive and inappropriate questions” about their personal life, including their sexual orientation, shortly before administering the nitrous oxide anesthesia, the plea agreement states. It says the incidents took place while the patients were alone with Ahmed in a procedure room, according to the plea agreement.

Among the charges to which he pleaded guilty were second-degree sexual abuse of a patient with aggravating circumstances, first-degree sexual abuse of a patient with aggravating circumstances, and simple assault.

The simple assault charge involved an admission that he touched a second male employee several times in a sexually suggestive way on his lower back and hip after the employee repeatedly asked him not to do so.

“After being administered nitrous oxide, K.E. fell asleep,” the plea document says in describing Ahmed’s actions toward one of the patients identified only by his initials. “When he awoke, the defendant’s pants and underwear were down to the defendant’s feet,” the document says. “The defendant was masturbating in front of K.E. The defendant took K.E.’s hand and placed it on the defendant’s penis.”

The document adds, “The defendant then unzipped K.E.’s pants and placed his own hand on K.E.’s unclothed penis. The defendant continued to masturbate himself until he (the defendant) ejaculated,” the plea document says.

In exchange for the guilty plea prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to drop several additional charges against Ahmed handed down by a Superior Court grand jury in a multi-count indictment last October.

During the May 15 plea hearing, Superior Court Judge Zoe Bush scheduled a sentencing hearing for Ahmed on Aug. 10. He faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for the First Degree Sexual Abuse charge along with significant additional time for the other charges to which he pleaded guilty.

Under terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to allow Ahmed to be released into home detention at his residence in Falls Church, Va., until the time of his sentence with an exception that he is allowed to leave home for daily prayer at a mosque in Falls Church or at the Islamic Center on Massachusetts Avenue in Northwest D.C.

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Virginia

VIDEO: LGBTQ groups march in Va. inaugural parade

Abigail Spanberger took office on Saturday

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Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond march in the 2026 Inauguration Parade on the grounds of the state capitol in Richmond, Va. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The inaugural ceremonies for Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger were held in Richmond, Va. on Saturday. Among the groups marching in the parade were Diversity Richmond and the Virginia Pride project of Diversity Richmond.

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The LGBTQ contingent in the inaugural parade in Richmond, Va. pass by the review stand on Jan. 17, 2026. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
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Virginia

Va. Senate approves referendum to repeal marriage amendment

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin introduced SJ3

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(Bigstock photo)

The Virginia Senate on Friday by a 26-13 vote margin approved a resolution that seeks to repeal a state constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Outgoing state Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) introduced SJ3. The Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on Wednesday approved it by a 10-4 vote margin.

Same-sex couples have been able to legally marry in Virginia since 2014. Outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2024 signed a bill that codified marriage equality in state law.

A resolution that seeks to repeal the Marshall-Newman Amendment passed in the General Assembly in 2021. The resolution passed again in 2025.

Two successive legislatures must approve the resolution before it can go to the ballot. Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have said the resolution’s passage is among their 2026 legislative priorities.

“It’s time for Virginia’s Constitution to reflect the law of the land and the values of today,” said Ebbin after Friday’s vote. “This amendment, if approved by voters, would affirm the dignity of all committed couples and protects marriage equality for future generations.”

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Maryland

Layoffs and confusion at Pride Center of Maryland after federal grants cut, reinstated

Trump administration move panicked addiction and mental health programs

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Merrick Moses, a violence prevention coordinator, works at the Pride Center of Maryland in Baltimore. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz for the Baltimore Banner)

By ALISSA ZHU | After learning it had abruptly lost $2 million in federal funding, the Pride Center of Maryland moved to lay off a dozen employees, or about a third of its workforce, the Baltimore nonprofit’s leader said Thursday.

The group is one of thousands nationwide that reportedly received letters late Tuesday from the Trump administration. Their mental health and addiction grants had been terminated, effective immediately, the letters said.

By Wednesday night, federal officials moved to reverse the funding cuts by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, estimated to total $2 billion, according to national media reports. But the Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO Cleo Manago said as of Thursday morning he had not heard anything from the federal government confirming those reports.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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