DC barbershop owner prosecutors call a ‘dangerous predator’ takes plea deal in rape case
A D.C. barber shop owner accused of drugging and then raping teenage girls has pleaded guilty to four of the assaults in a plea deal with prosecutors.
A D.C. barbershop owner accused of drugging and raping multiple teenage girls has pleaded guilty to four of the sexual assaults in a plea deal with prosecutors.
“We are pleased with the plea agreement, because this will take a dangerous predator off the streets,” said Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy.
As one of his victims watched on, Julian Everett, 39, of New Carrollton, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree rape and took an Alford plea to a fourth count in a Prince George’s County, Maryland, courtroom. An Alford plea is taken when someone doesn’t plead guilty to a crime but agrees the evidence in the case would have led to a conviction.
Last week, Everett also pleaded guilty to the kidnapping of a minor and possession of child pornography.
Between the years of 2005 and 2015, prosecutors say Everett befriended three teenagers. Braveboy outlined how he would pick up these underage girls and serve them alcoholic drinks laced with an unknown substance.
“They would later wake up finding themselves in a different location than they started and having been sexually assaulted,” Braveboy said.
The four victims who came forward in this case ranged in age when they were assaulted, from 16 to 18 years old.
Braveboy said Everett, whose barbershop was near Howard University in D.C.’s Shaw neighborhood, targeted students at the college. Two of the victims were Howard students.
“While there are four victims, whose cases were resolved today, we believe that there are other victims out there who, for whatever reason, chose not to come forward,” Braveboy said.
In the plea deal, Everett would be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison. The sentencing is scheduled for January 2025, after he is sentenced for federal charges related to the case. Those charges include kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines.
Everett was arrested on March 21, 2019, and is being charged for four sexual assaults of teenagers that happened in 2016, 2015 and 2005.
The victims
In the case of the first victim, a then 17-year-old girl told police that Everett picked her up from her D.C. home in August of 2016, and drove her to his barbershop. There, Everett is accused of serving the teen a drink which made her feel sick. She began to come in and out of consciousness as Everett allegedly drove her to his New Carrollton home and raped her.
He is also accused of filming and taking pictures of the sexual assault.
The second victim said Everett picked her up from her home in Virginia and promised they would remain in the area but instead took her to his home in Maryland, where he served her an alcoholic drink before, prosecutors said, he sexually assaulted her.
After the assault, the second victim accused Everett of breaking her phone when she tried to call 911 and punching her in her mouth, breaking a tooth, when she tried to scream for help. The 16-year-old girl was able to get away and flag down an oncoming car for help.
The third victim told police Everett took her to a gas station and served her a drink that made her unable to walk on her own. He is accused of then raping her in his home.
Her sexual assault was linked to Everett after DNA from her sexual assault kit matched the DNA submitted in the kit from the second victim.
The fourth victim, according to prosecutors, came forward after Everett’s arrest and said in 2015, when she was 16, he took her to his home and served her a mixed drink that made her lose focus, feel lightheaded and weak. Then the teenager said she was raped by Everett.
Electronic devices
In 2019, police searched Everett’s home and confiscated several electronic devices, including phones and computers. Prosecutors said they found sexually explicit images and videos taken of the victims, including videos of the sexual assaults, on Everett’s devices.
Images of a fifth unidentified victim were also found.
Prosecutors search for other victims
Prosecutors said they are still searching for other victims and encourage any victims to come forward if they haven’t already. Braveboy said this includes not only possible victims of Everett but any victims of rape.
“We want to take these violent predators off the streets. In order to do so, we do need victims to come forward and know that they can be and will remain anonymous to the public, obviously, in court, if we are pursuing a case they will have to testify,” she said. “But we take good care of our victims.”
Assistant State’s Attorney Jessica Garth thanked the victims for their bravery during this case, where one victim was waiting almost 20 years for justice. Garth said these types of cases are very difficult for victims, which results in some not coming forward.
“There’s a certain feeling of responsibility taken on by victims, when you’re the person who’s chosen to consume an alcoholic beverage, you take a certain amount of responsibility on yourself for what might happen to you, when you’re assaulted after consuming that beverage,” Garth said. “Even if you’re at the point where you cannot consent.”
Garth said in these cases, prosecutors must educate jurors on the fact that people who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol cannot consent, even if they took the alcohol willingly.