Man pleads guilty to raping housekeeper in downtown Norfolk hotel
NORFOLK — A man pleaded guilty this week to raping a housekeeper at knifepoint at a downtown Norfolk hotel.
Donte Jamal Davis, 30, of Virginia Beach, pleaded guilty to a single count of rape for the May 2023 assault on the sixth floor of the Norfolk Waterside Marriott on Main Street. In exchange for Davis’ plea, the judge and prosecutors agreed to cap his potential sentence at no more than 31 years in prison. Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 2.
According to a release from the commonwealth’s attorney’s office, the woman was cleaning a hotel room with the door ajar when Davis came in, threatened her with a knife, and raped her.
A supervisor who came by to check on the woman’s work heard her call for help and went in, the release said. Davis pushed past the supervisor, ran out of the room and threatened to kill the supervisor when she chased him.
Photos from the hotel’s security footage were quickly distributed to Norfolk police and local security agencies, the release said. Later that day, an off-duty officer saw Davis boarding a light rail train.
Investigators obtained the train’s security footage and a search warrant for Davis’ home. There, they found belongings that matched items the suspect was seen with at the hotel and on the train. DNA testing of some of the recovered items confirmed he was the perpetrator, the release said.
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
