Norfolk man pleads guilty to raping hotel maid after threatening her with knife

A 30-year-old man pleaded guilty last week Rape of hotel maid in downtown Norfolk last year.

Donte Jamal DavisDavis, 30, will be sentenced on August 2. As part of his plea agreement, he will serve a maximum of 31 years in prison.

According to court documents, on May 15, 2023, the employee was cleaning a hotel room and left the door ajar while she worked. Davis entered the room with her genitals exposed, threatened the employee with a knife and raped her.

The employee’s supervisor came into the room to check her work and heard the employee calling for help. Davis pushed past the supervisor and ran out of the room still naked, threatening to kill the supervisor after chasing him.

Surveillance footage from the hotel’s hallways and exits showed Davis escaping, and photos of Davis were distributed to everyone. Norfolk Police officers and local security authorities.

Later that day, an off-duty officer saw Davis board a light rail and recognized him from the photographs. The officer reported the sighting of Davis to investigators, who served a search warrant for Hampton Roads Transit to obtain footage of Davis.

Investigators also obtained and executed a search warrant for a residence associated with Davis, finding items consistent with those seen by the suspect both at the hotel and in the light rail footage.

Subsequent DNA testing of some of these items confirmed the presence of the victim’s blood and Davis’ semen.

On May 23, the first day of the requested jury trial, Davis accepted an agreement to plead guilty to rape.

“I feel deeply for the survivor of Mr. Davis’ crimes,” said Norfolk District Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “She was at work, doing her job and caring for others, and Mr. Davis abused her when she should have felt safe.”