Va. girls report being assaulted after trick-or-treating

Police say three teenage Dale City girls returning from a night of trick-or-treating appear to have been forced into the woods, where two of them were sexually assaulted by an unknown man.

The three girls were walking near Glendale Plaza on Dale Boulevard about 9 p.m. when they were approached by a man with a gun, Prince William County police said Sunday. The man allegedly ordered the girls to lie on the ground in a wooded area and then raped a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old in the group, police said. The third girl, 16, was not sexually assaulted, said Officer Erika Hernandez, a police spokeswoman.

Police said the two girls who were sexually assaulted were treated at a hospital after the attack. Police have not released the identity of the victims or additional details about the attack, and The Washington Post generally does not identify victims of sexual assaults.

Detectives are working to find the attacker, who was described as a man with a medium build, between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8 and wearing a gray sweat shirt and dark sneakers. He left the area on foot, police said.

Prince William police ask that anyone with information about the case call Crime Solvers at 703-670-3700 or 866-411-TIPS (8477), where callers can leave information anonymously.