Police: Repeat Offender Charged in Attempted Sexual Assault

A man was arrested again last week on accusations that he held a woman against her will and attempted to sexually assault her.

Nathanael Lovett, 27, who has no fixed address, has been charged with abduction with intent to defile, grand larceny and trespassing. He is being held without bond.

The alleged attack occurred about 9 p.m. Thursday in the 600 block of North Vermont Street in the Bluemont community, according to police.

The woman was walking her dog when Lovett started following her, police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said.

"She told him a couple of times to quit following her," Sternbeck said.

Lovett soon was close enough to grab the woman, spin her around and hold her close to his body, Sternbeck said. He grabbed her breasts and stomach area in an attempt to take her pants off, Sternbeck said. 

The woman was able to either knee or kick her attacker in the stomach. He fell to the ground, and she began running. She came upon a man outside his home and, visibly upset, asked him to call the police, Sternbeck said.

That man did not witness the alleged attack, he said.

The man and woman did soon after see Lovett standing across the street in a nearby parking lot. He was smoking a cigarette and staring at them, Sternbeck said.

When the police were called, the man was seen going behind a shed in the direction of Ballston Common Mall.

Police arrived and set up a perimeter, and a short time later saw a man changing clothes in an alley outside of the mall, Sternbeck said.

The officers approached him and saw the clothes that the victim had described balled up and thrown to one side. The man was trying to change into clothes he had just stolen from the mall, according to police.

He was taken into custody and the victim later gave a positive visual identification of him as her attacker, Sternbeck said.

On March 31, Lovett was charged with indecent exposure by a patrol officer at the at 3510 Wilson Blvd.

Lovett pleaded guilty to that charge Monday, according to Arlington County General District Court records. He was sentenced to 12 months, 10 suspended, and ordered to pay $236 in court costs.

Court records do not indicate when his sentence is supposed to begin.

Lovett still owes the $236, plus another $141 in fines and court fees for a July 2008 drunk in public conviction, online records state.

Lovett sometimes uses a slight variation of his first name — Nathaniel — according to the Arlington County Sheriff's Office. Police also listed a slightly different age for him during the March 31 incident.

Court records indicate it's the same individual. And after the March 31 incident, Sternbeck said Lovett had recently been released from jail in Washington on an unrelated charge.

Sternbeck said: "We want to reiterate to the public to just be aware of your surroundings. If you get a bad feeling about something, trust your instincts. Always carry a phone with you, especially if you're a female walking alone in night. Try to walk in pairs. And don't wear earphones in both ears."

Lovett's hearing on his latest charges are June 22 in Arlington County General District Court.