Man pleads guilty to sex assault in DC court holding cell

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Washington, D.C., man is facing sentencing in June after admitting that he sexually assaulted another man in a D.C. Superior Court holding cell.

Thirty-seven-year-old Jerome Holliway pleaded guilty Friday to first-degree sexual abuse. Under an agreement with prosecutors, he faces a sentence of 17 ½ years in prison.

The November assault, which lasted 12 minutes, raised questions about how it could be carried out without attracting the attention of U.S. marshals, who handle security in the courthouse.

Marshals entered the cell five minutes later and found the 27-year-old victim nude and in a fetal position.

A spokesman for the Marshals Service told the Washington Post (http://wapo.st/2nWOl8J ) on Friday that some security changes have been made since the assault, but he declined to elaborate.