13-05-2025
Police linked man to C&O Canal towpath attack following separate arrest for indecent exposure
Police identified the alleged perpetrator of a March 6, 2024, attack on the C&O Canal towpath near Point of Rocks after arresting him for indecent exposure in another part of Frederick County two months later, court documents show.
John David Hawk, 34, is charged with one count each of attempted third-degree sex offense, attempted fourth-degree sex offense, second-degree assault and false imprisonment in connection with the March 6, 2024, towpath attack.
Chief Assistant State's Attorney for Frederick County Ricky Lewis on March 4, 2025, requested a warrant for Hawk's arrest on those charges.
The filing lays out how Hawk's prior arrest on June 29, 2024 — which resulted in the seizure of his cellphone — led investigators to suspect that he was responsible for the towpath attack.
According to the filing, Hawk was arrested that day after a woman called 911 to report that he was publicly masturbating in the area of 750 Carroll Parkway. He was believed to be living in Frederick County at the time.
Hawk was released on his own recognizance after the June 29, 2024, arrest, online court records show. He ultimately entered an Alford plea to one count of indecent exposure in connection with the incident.
An Alford plea is not an admission of guilt, but an acknowledgment that prosecutors have enough evidence to convict.
Online court records show that Senior Judge Terrence McGann sentenced Hawk to three months imprisonment for the offense, but suspended the entire sentence. McGann also ordered Hawk to serve 18 months of unsupervised probation.
While Hawk did not serve any jail time for his indecent exposure conviction, his cellphone was seized as part of his arrest for the offense, the request for an arrest warrant says.
In February 2025, the FBI analyzed the data collected from the cellphone tower closest to the scene of the towpath attack.
The data revealed that the cellphone seized from Hawk on June 29, 2024, was in the area during the time of the attack on March 6, 2024.
Additionally, the request for an arrest warrant says, the National Park Service received multiple tips identifying Hawk as the potential perpetrator based on his physical appearance, his tendency to loiter in the area of the attack and his history of inappropriate behavior toward women.
The victim of the March 6, 2024, attack was also shown a photo array containing an image of Hawk, who she positively identified as the perpetrator.
The woman's name in court documents matches the name of one of two women who spoke to The Frederick News-Post on condition of anonymity last year about their experiences of being attacked by a man on the C&O Canal towpath.
At that time, the victim of the March 6, 2024, attack told the News-Post that she was on her way back to her car from a three-mile hike when a man who she had seen near the trailhead earlier approached her.
The woman said the man forced her to the ground, covered her nose and mouth with his hand and tried to take her toward the river bank. She fought him off, used her Apple Watch to call 911 and hid until police arrived.
The request for an arrest warrant says the woman had injuries to her neck, right ear, face, lips, jaw, left shoulder and right arm as a result of the attack.
At some point between his Sept. 26, 2024, plea hearing in the indecent exposure case and his arrest in the towpath attack case, Hawk relocated to South Carolina.
A detective with the Frederick County Sheriff's Office and a special agent with the FBI Baltimore Field Office traveled to South Carolina on March 10, 2025, in an effort to locate and arrest Hawk, the News-Post previously reported.
He was extradited to Maryland on March 20, 2025, and has been held without bail at the Frederick County Adult Detention Center since then, online court records show.
Hawk briefly appeared in Frederick County Circuit Court on Monday for a conference ahead of his trial, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 13.
His public defender, Graziella Bianchi, declined to comment on Hawk's behalf when reached by phone after the conference.
A press release from the National Park Service on March 11, 2024, said the March 6, 2024, incident was believed to be related to a second incident on March 10, 2024, in which a woman was chased by a man wielding a stick near the Nolands Ferry entrance to the C&O Canal towpath.
That woman also spoke to the News-Post on condition of anonymity about her experience.
Asked on Monday whether the State's Attorney's Office is investigating a connection between the March 10, 2024, incident and the March 6, 2024, incident in which Hawk is charged, Lewis declined to comment.
Hawk is scheduled to appear in court for another pre-trial conference on July 23 at 9 a.m.
