Arlington community advocate found guilty on all charges related to sexual assault

Gabby Allen
·1 min read

ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now) — A three-day trial concluded on Wednesday after a jury found a former community activist and school employee guilty on all charges related to two sexual assaults.

Julio Basurto was convicted of two counts of abduction with intent to defile, one count of object of sexual penetration and one count of forcible sodomy. He was arrested in June 2023.

The Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney said that these charges stemmed from two incidents in the Clanderon Area on Oct. 10, 2021, and May 21, 2023. In both of these incidents, Basurto lured two different women into his car and sexually assaulted them.

Arlington community advocate arrested, charged with two felonies after alleged sexual assault

He recorded one of the assaults and saved the video on his phone in a file that was double-encrypted.

“I’m grateful the jury came to the right verdict here. It’s hard to say that this is justice because the victims will always have to live with the trauma they have endured in these violent sexual assaults – but this is a win for public safety, so no woman trying to enjoy a night out with her friends has to fear that Mr. Basurto will do the same to them,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said.

Detectives believe there may be additional incidents that occurred during the early morning hours on the following dates:

  • September 20, 2021

  • October 3, 2021

  • October 14, 2021

  • September 4, 2022

Anyone who may have experienced a similar incident or had past inappropriate encounters with Basurto is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s tip line at 703-228-4180 or ACPDTipline@arlingtonva.us. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

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