A man has been convicted of breaking into multiple apartments in Courthouse and Virginia Square and sexually assaulting two women in April 2023.
A jury found Geremy Bridgeforth guilty of unlawfully entering three apartments in the middle of the night and, on two instances, sexually assaulting victims while they were sleeping, according to a press release from the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office.
“The conduct Mr. Bridgeforth was engaged in is what nightmares are made of: residential break-ins in the middle of the night and sexual assault,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said. “We are grateful to the jury’s service, and grateful that the guilty verdicts ensure that Mr. Bridgeforth will not do this again.”
The first incident took place at the Quincy Plaza apartment building the night of April 1, 2023. Prosecutors say Bridgeforth entered a woman’s apartment and stole some credit cards, leaving behind a partial palm print in the process.
The following night, according to the press release, Bridgeforth returned to the same building and entered a different apartment, where another woman was asleep in bed.
“Mr. Bridgeforth then sexually assaulted her, and after the victim screamed, he fled the scene,” the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office wrote.
A final incident took place ten days later, on April 12, 2023. This time, according to prosecutors, Bridgeforth entered the Courthouse Plaza apartment building where a third woman was asleep and sexually assaulted her until she screamed and successfully fought him off.
At the time, multiple residents told ARLnow that the Courthouse incident happened shortly after management installed smartphone-operated “smart locks” on the apartment building’s doors. Some claimed the locks would leave apartment doors open even when an app said it was locked.
Authorities told ARLnow that they found a number of opened or unlocked doors that same morning.
Bridgeforth has a number of prior arrests and convictions in Arlington dating between 2015-2021, according to court records, on charges including fare evasion, trespassing and indecent exposure. Most recently he served a net two months in jail on 2021 indecent exposure charges, court records suggest.
Bridgeforth was arrested in July 2023.
Jurors found him guilty of object sexual penetration, burglary with intent to commit object sexual penetration, aggravated sexual battery, burglary with intent to commit aggravated sexual battery, and burglary with intent to commit larceny or any felony.
Prosecutors used surveillance footage, the handprint, DNA samples and geolocation and WiFi data to secure Bridgeforth’s conviction.
His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 3.
