A Virginia-based sailor assigned to Branch Health Clinic Dahlgren faces rape, sodomy and burglary charges for allegedly breaking into a woman’s home and sexually assaulting her.
Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Andrew Hoffman Black, 38, is being held without bail in the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford pending an initial bond hearing slated for Wednesday.
Originally scheduled for May 3, Black’s arraignment hearing in King George County District Court has been postponed. He’s being represented by a public defender, according to online legal records.
Detectives suspect that the alleged incident occurred late on April 30 or early May 1 at the home of a woman in Fairview Beach, a hamlet located on the banks of the Potomac River in Virginia’s King George County.
With an estimated population of less than 600 residents, Fairview Beach is roughly 14 miles west of Naval Support Facility Dahlgren.
Black and the woman were acquainted and had allegedly run into each other earlier in the evening of April 30 at Fairview Beach according to Capt. Chris Giles, spokesman for the King George County Sheriff’s Office.
Later that same evening, Black is alleged to turned up at the woman’s home, forced his way inside and sexually assaulted her.
Authorities became aware of the incident when the woman sought treatment at Mary Washington Hospital in nearby Fredericksburg.
Warrants for Black’s arrest were issued May 2 and he was behind bars later that evening.
Originally from Maryland, Black enlisted in the Navy on Feb. 17, 2011, according to military records.
He previously served on board the amphibious assault ship Wasp before reporting for duty at Dahlgren in late 2016.
Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.
