FAIRFAX, Va. — Fairfax County police say an accused rapist is now in custody thanks to tips from the community, and because the investigation is still active, they’re hoping residents can provide even more information.

In the early morning hours of February 20, a 51-year-old woman in the Mount Vernon area was awakened in her home on Blankenship Street by a strange man who raped and threatened her before fleeing.

The woman was treated at Inova Fairfax Hospital for injuries that were not life threatening.

“A tragedy for our community. A horrific event,” is how Police Chief Ed Roessler described the crime at a Monday news conference at police headquarters.

Roessler says after it happened, his officers started knocking on doors in the neighborhood.

“We had zero information as to who this suspect was.”

But talking to the public provided the break police needed.

“The piece of information that really solved this case is something that came from them, and that was the whereabouts of a group of individuals that were known to loiter and frequent in the area, and had been seen in that area,” said Police Captain David Smith, commander of the Major Crimes
Division.

That put 22-year-old Edwin Martinez on investigators’ radar, and he was arrested Friday on charges of rape, burglary, and providing a false ID to a law enforcement officer.

“Today, Fairfax County is safer because the suspect in this case is sitting across the street in the Adult Detention Center on no bond. That’s where he belongs,” Roessler said.

Police say the investigation continues, and if you have any information that can help you’re asked to call Detective Erin Weeks at 703-246-3793 or submit an anonymous tip to Fairfax County police Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477.