By Martin Weil
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 30, 2008

An elderly woman was attacked in her home in the Sterling area of Loudoun County about midnight Thursday, and authorities were trying to determine whether the incident was connected to earlier reports of prowlers and burglaries in eastern Loudoun.

In the latest incident, the assailant forced his way through a door either just before midnight Thursday or just after midnight yesterday morning, the county sheriff's office said.

He then confronted the woman, brandished a knife and sexually assaulted her, the sheriff's office said. He fled and she contacted authorities about 12:30 a.m.

A search followed, involving a dog and the Fairfax County police helicopter, but no suspect was located. The woman was treated at a hospital for minor physical injuries, the sheriff's office said.

This month, Loudoun authorities listed several incidents in the Leesburg area in which a man entered homes and touched women in their beds.