In what federal prosecutors described as an “unprecedented” and “uniquely heinous” case, a Maryland man Wednesday was sentenced to 39 years in prison for multiple sexual assaults involving three men who lived on Capitol Hill nearly six years ago.

       Wp Get the full experience.Choose your plan ArrowRight

       Despite pleading guilty to two charges of first-degree sexual assault and one count of second-degree sexual assault, Bryant “Bryan” Webster, 38, of Suitland, maintained his innocence as a D.C. Superior Court judge sentenced him to the maximum prison term within the plea agreement his attorneys reached with prosecutors.

       Prosecutors said between August and October 2016, Webster cased the homes and watched the comings and goings of his victims. He broke into their residences armed with a Ruger 9mm that had a red laser sight attached, duct tape and packs of condoms and attacked three men who lived within blocks of each other in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, prosecutors said.

       Advertisement

       All three victims said Webster was a stranger and that they had never seen him previously.

       One of the victims told authorities that on Oct. 1, 2016, he saw Webster standing in the hallway of his home late one evening and thought Webster had broken in as part of a burglary. The victim said Webster pulled the gun out of a backpack, pointed it at him and ordered him to lie on the bed. Webster, the victim later told authorities, then bound the man’s hands and feet with the duct tape and raped him as he kept the gun pointed at him.

       Police learned of a similar attack from two months earlier involving another man who lived just blocks away. In that incident, prosecutors say, Webster broke into another victim’s home just before sunrise, forcing the victim to lie on his stomach. Webster then duct taped the man’s hands and feet, placed a pillowcase over his head and threatened to kill him as he repeatedly raped him, prosecutors said.

       Advertisement

       The third victim told authorities he did not know he had been sexually assaulted until prosecutors summoned him to their office to show him cellphone photographs and videos that Webster had taken on his iPhone that showed Webster sexually assaulting the unconscious man.

       Police arrest drug counselor charged with sexually assaulting two men at gunpoint in Capitol Hill

       During the sentencing hearing, that victim appeared via a remote video connection and said he was a roommate of one of the prior victims who had been raped. The man said his only concern was the well being of his roommate when he learned of the attack. But weeks later, prosecutors informed him that he too had been assaulted while he was asleep in his bedroom in another part of the house.

       “I felt I was broken, that I would never be okay again. I had a sense of being ruined, a sense of shame. I fell into the darkest despair of my life,” the man told the judge.

       Advertisement

       The man said since the attack, he had been seeing a therapist and relied on prayers. “I have forgiven Bryan. I spoke to God, crying out to Jesus to please help me. His love and forgiveness flowed through me.”

       But the man also said he hoped the judge would sentence Webster to the maximum prison sentence. “I want to be clear, while I have forgiven Bryant, he is extremely dangerous and a real threat to human life.”

       Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenechukwu Okocha said the evidence against Webster was overwhelming. Webster’s DNA was found at the victims’ homes, and a backpack with the pistol, duct tape, a crowbar and stolen checks with his victims’ names were found at Webster’s home.

       “He is an unrepentant serial, violent, invasion of home, rapist,” Okocha said.

       Webster earlier tried to plead guilty, withdrew his plea and then opted for trial several times, which delayed the case. Webster has repeatedly denied the allegations, even at one point suggesting one of the victims was responsible for the attack.

       Advertisement

       There was no evidence that Webster had broken into any of the residences, according to prosecutors. And prosecutors did not charge Webster with drugging any of the victims.

       “I do not feel I was given a chance to defend myself with competent attorneys,” Webster told Judge Marisa Demeo.

       Attorney Thomas A. Key, who was only recently appointed to Webster’s case, criticized the U.S. attorney’s office and argued that prosecutors delayed in presenting to them their evidence against Webster before trial, which made Webster’s plea decision more challenging.

       Demeo said Key’s concerns would likely be addressed by the D.C. Court of Appeals.

       The judge acknowledged that a nearly 40-year prison term as part of a plea deal was unusual, even for individuals who pleaded guilty to murder or sexual assaults involving children and especially for those with no prior offenses, such as Webster.

       But Demeo said Webster’s lack of remorse or acknowledgment of his actions revealed that his “life toward rehabilitation seems very thin.” Webster’s repeated court delays forced the victims to wait nearly six years for their case to be heard in court and helped justify such a lengthy sentence, the judge said. Demeo also ordered Webster to undergo psychological evaluations while in prison.