An Atlanta man linked to several sexual assaults pleaded guilty this week to crimes against two women he met online, the DeKalb County district attorney said.
Demetrius Samuel Roam, 22, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated assault strangulation, aggravated assault with intent to rape, armed robbery, kidnapping, aggravated sodomy and rape for the assaults of two women within a one-week span in October 2020, DA Sherry Boston said.
Roam was a teenager when he was arrested. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to 50 years to serve, plus life on probation. He must register as a sex offender and is banned for life from social media, Boston said.
On Oct. 17, 2020, DeKalb officers were called to an apartment complex at 2500 Shallowford Road, where Roam lived with a family member. A 20-year-old woman told officers she met a man on social media and agreed to meet him at the complex, according to investigators.
As the victim and the man, later identified as Roam, walked toward his apartment, he grabbed the victim from behind and dragged her into an apartment, the woman told officers. Roam then began choking her and put a knife to her neck. The woman cut her fingers as she tried to grab the knife.
According to prosecutors, Roam forced the woman into a bathroom but she was able to push him away. She ran to get help from a neighbor, who had already called police after hearing screams.
The victim’s purse, credit cards and phone were missing, and officers found blood in the bathroom, according to investigators.
Six days later, officers were again called to the complex.
This time, a 22-year-old woman said she had planned to meet a man she met online when Roam put her in a chokehold and pushed her toward a closet in the laundry room, according to prosecutors. The woman told investigators she felt a knife at her side as Roam told her to undress and raped her. Police found a sleeping bag and a condom wrapper in the closet where the assault occurred.
During the investigation, DeKalb officers learned Roam was a suspect in a 2019 rape case at the complex that had gone cold. His photograph was included in a lineup, and both victims identified him as the assailant who attacked them. He was arrested Oct. 24, 2020.
Roam initially denied the Oct. 17 assault, but later told officers: “I didn’t mean to hurt her, she grabbed the knife.” He admitted the Oct. 23 crimes, but said he had offered to pay the woman, according to investigators.
Investigators believe Roam could be responsible for similar crimes in DeKalb, Clayton County and Birmingham, Alabama, as well as other crimes that may not have been reported.
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