Washington nets 45 years for Aurora rapes, burglaries related to 2012 spree

AURORA | A man accused of raping two women and burglarizing several homes during a November 2012 Aurora crime spree has been sentenced to 45 years in prison.

An Arapahoe County judge handed down the sentence to Cameron Tori Washington, 32, last week after he pleaded guilty in September to several felony counts, including burglary and attempted sexual assault.

According to police and prosecutors, Washington broke into several homes near East Mississippi Avenue and South Chambers Road during an 8-day stretch in 2012, stealing valuables from the homes and sexually assaulting two women. In a third case, police say Washington broke into a woman’s apartment and fled when she screamed.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Gary Dawson, one of the prosecutors on the case, said in a statement that Washington’s crimes were horrific.

“This defendant was a one man crime wave.  The defendant was a career burglar who decided that while he was in the homes of three young women, he chose to commit crimes that were truly horrific,” he said.

Dawson said Washington’s were particularly traumatic for the victims because they were inside their own homes when they were attacked. 

“This is every person’s worst nightmare — to wake up with a person in their home is frightening enough, but then he went on to assault two of the women, and would have assaulted the third but for her fighting him off,” he said.

Police arrested Washington in December 2012 after DNA taken from one of the crime scenes matched  a sample of his stored in a state database. Washington’s DNA was on file because of previous felony convictions.

At the time of Washington’s arrest, police credited the state DNA database with helping catch him soon after the attacks.

Investigators also found a laptop computer stolen during one of the attacks at Washington’s home in Denver.

Washington was on parole at the time of the attacks for a 2008 burglary conviction.

In the statement from prosecutors, one of the victims said she was glad to see Washington convicted and sent to prison.

“With this sentence, I feel like I got justice.  I’m relieved and I’m ready to start the new year.  I’m happy,” she said.

District Attorney George Brauchler said he was disappointed that while Washington was sentenced to 45 years in prison, he could be up for parole after 34 years under state law.

“There are few in society more deserving of a significant loss of their freedom than a repeat home-invasion rapist, like Washington,” he said in the statement. “It is unfortunate that in our state, a sentence to 45 years does not necessarily mean this culprit will actually serve 45 years.”