Man convicted of raping woman in Woodlawn area

A man was convicted last week of raping a 51-year-old woman in a horrific incident earlier this year that drew widespread police and community response.

Edwin Ponce Martinez, 23, pleaded guilty to a rape charge Oct. 19 in Fairfax County Circuit Court, according to a courthouse official. He will be sentenced Dec. 9, and faces up to life in prison.

Edwin Ponce Martinez

The attack occurred around 3 a.m. on Feb. 20 in the 8400 block of Blankenship Street, according to information provided by police at the time. A man broke into the victim’s home, threatened her and sexually assaulted her. The victim was taken to the hospital with what were described as non life-threatening injuries.

Ponce Martinez was arrested Feb. 26 after being spotted by officers in a car near the intersection of Richmond Highway and Lockheed Boulevard in Hybla Valley. He had been identified as a suspect earlier that day by police, four days after a sketch of the assailant had been publicaly released.

At the time of the arrest, Fairfax Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler called the incident “a tragedy for the community” and praised neighbors of the victim with helping the police identify Ponce Martinez as a suspect.