Man pleads guilty to kidnapping, raping woman in downtown Wilmington
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Fayetteville man will spend at least five years in prison for raping a woman who had been drugged in downtown Wilmington.
According to the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office, a 26-year-old woman was celebrating with friends on October 5, 2019 when she was the victim of a drugging.
As she sat on the curb outside of a bar on Princess Street, investigators say Marcel Robertson, 39, approached her, picked her up, and quickly carried her into a vacant building on N. Front Street where he raped her. Robertson was employed by the person renovating the building and had been given keys to enter the space.
Multiple people saw Robertson carrying the victim and assumed they knew each other. When asked about her well-being, Robertson assured them he was taking care of her.
The victim woke the next morning in the vacant building, confused about what occurred.
DNA collected from the victim during a sexual assault evidence collection examination was analyzed at the North Carolina Crime Lab and confirmed Robertson’s identity.
As WPD detectives investigated the 2019 rape, they became aware of an investigation by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in 2014 involving a young woman who had attended a party with close friends after which she woke to this same defendant raping her.
Surveillance video observed by officers in Fayetteville showed the defendant carrying the apparently unconscious woman into the residence where she was assaulted. No charges were filed in that investigation.
The New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office requested analysis of the previously untested sexual assault evidence collection kit performed on this young woman and the DNA located in the kit confirmed Robertson’s identity.
“Robertson is a prime example of predatory behavior. He targeted this victim as soon as he saw her vulnerable condition,” said Assistant District Attorney Connie Jordan. “Video evidence and witness accounts establish a timeline that Robertson, a complete stranger, was with this woman for about two minutes before he picked her up and carried her to the crime scene, all the while telling those who were concerned for her that he would make sure she was safe.”
Jury selection in the Wilmington rape case was scheduled to begin on Monday. Instead, Robertson pleaded guilty before Judge Kent Harrell, who sentenced Robertson, who was out of custody, to a minimum of 5.7 and a maximum of 11.75 years in prison.
Upon release he will be placed on post release supervision for 60 months and he will be required to register as a sexual offender for the remainder of his lifetime.
