Local
D.C. dentist pleads guilty to sexually assaulting male patients
Victims were abused while under anesthesia
A 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.
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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