Hagerstown man sentenced for his second Washington County rape conviction

A Hagerstown man was recently sentenced to 40 years in state prison for his second rape conviction in Washington County.

Washington County Circuit Court Judge Mark K. Boyer cited Donald Monroe Mitchell Jr.'s two convictions for not complying with the sex offender registry and his violation of a protective order as well as his conviction in a 2001 rape case before sentencing him in the 2019 rape case to 40 years in prison.

Mitchell's charging documents in the 2019 case show him having a Hagerstown address, but the Maryland Sex Offender Registry listed his address as being in Sykesville in Carroll County, Md., according to a 2020 Herald-Mail story.

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The sentence, announced on April 24, includes 35 years for a second-degree rape conviction handed down by a Washington County jury in December 2022. It also includes a consecutive five years for a conviction on another felony sex crime charge in the same case.

Mitchell, 45, has credit for about three years and 10 months of time served.

The case stems from an incident that occurred the night of Sept. 4-5, 2019, at Mitchell's former residence in Hagerstown.

The victim in the case is an adult woman who stopped at Mitchell's home on Sept. 4 while awaiting a medical appointment nearby, according to charging documents.

Rape victim in 2019 case was disoriented after given spice and alcohol

A Hagerstown police officer spoke with the woman on Sept. 5, 2019, at Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown, where she underwent a sexual assault forensics examination, the charging document said. She said Mitchell supplied her with spice and alcohol on Sept. 4, causing her to become disoriented.

When she awoke the next morning, the woman suspected she had been sexually assaulted in her sleep, the charging document said.

While she was at Mitchell's home waiting for her appointment nearby, two people showed up and dropped off spice with Mitchell, according to court documents, referring to a form of synthetic marijuana.

The woman went to her appointment and returned to Mitchell's residence sometime afterward. She and Mitchell went to a liquor store where Mitchell bought beer.

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During the night, the woman told police, she drank beer and had one "hit" of spice, court documents state. She blacked out, but recalled someone trying to remove her clothing as she slept.

Later that night, she confronted Mitchell about what happened and he initially told her two friends of his had come by the apartment, charging documents state. She left at about 2:30 a.m. and later texted Mitchell, again asking what happened.

Mitchell texted her that they had "both passed out and had fun," according to the charging document. Text messages on her phone corroborated her account, the document said.

Samples from the woman's sexual assault examination were sent to the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division for comparison with a DNA sample police obtained by search warrant from Mitchell, the document said. A sample came back as a match for Mitchell on March 16, 2020.

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Deputy State's Attorney Sarah Mollett-Gaumer told Boyer at the April hearing that Mitchell continues to take no responsibility for his actions and tried to portray himself as the victim.

She said Mitchell was a threat to public safety.

The victim told Boyer in court that she had to persevere a long time to get justice, with the case in and out of court over recent years. She said it was "imperative" that Mitchell get a sentence that doesn't allow him to reoffend.

Mollett-Gaumer filed a notice of intent to seek subsequent offender penalties, based on the conviction in Mitchell's 2001 rape case. That notice meant Mitchell was facing up to life in prison for the 2019 case.

Assistant Public Defender Robert Sheehan said Mitchell was to get sex offender-related treatment due to the prior conviction, but he believed Mitchell didn't receive that treatment. If he had, that might have altered the situation, he said.

Sheehan told Boyer that Mitchell had past difficulties, including being abused, having caregivers who used drugs and his own early drug use. Those conditions contributed to various mental health diagnoses.

Sheehan said in talking with the pre-sentence investigation agent and a social worker with the public defender's office, Mitchell never denied what occurred and indicated he was remorseful.

Mitchell told the judge he struggles with alcohol and mental health issues.

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Sheehan asked Boyer to consider 20 years in state prison and a recommendation for Mitchell to the Patuxent Institution in Howard County, Md.

Patuxent is a treatment-oriented prison operated by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services that is separate from the Division of Correction, a department spokesperson has previously said.

That would protect the public and give Mitchell a chance to address his trauma, Sheehan said.

Boyer said he would recommend Mitchell for Patuxent, if officials at Patuxent believe Mitchell is an appropriate candidate.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Hagerstown man sentenced in 2019 rape case in city