Charlottesville Police made an arrest in another reported rape in the Free Bridge homeless encampment.
The PD announced on Monday the arrest of Anthony Lorenzo Watkins, 57, who has been charged with rape.
This is the second reported sexual assault in the encampment this month.
Michael Shaft Brewington, 48, was arrested on July 15 and charged with aggravated sexual battery in connection with a July 9 sexual assault in the encampment, which is home to an estimated 80 unhoused people in an area in a section of a public park located along the Rivanna River.
Two days later, on July 17, the city announced that it will begin a “coordinated transition” of people currently living in the homeless encampment on or around Sept. 1.
Per a release from the city, outreach teams made up of city staff and community partners will meet with people staying in the encampments “to assess their needs, connect them with available housing, shelter, healthcare, behavioral health, and other supportive services, and develop individualized transition plans whenever possible.”
Police Chief Michael Kochis was named in a lawsuit filed by a city resident earlier this month accusing the police department of failing to enforce trespassing laws at the encampment.
The suit, filed hours before the first reported rape in the encampment, says the encampment “poses a threat to public safety and health” – listing the causes of that threat as “sewage produced by the encampment, dirty needles left by individuals in the encampment, and violence for the homeless.”
The Free Bridge encampment has been a community focus since the encampment began to form over the past year.
Charlottesville City Council voted last year to purchase a former hotel for $6.25 million with plans to convert the space into a low-barrier shelter for the unhoused.
The plans are coming along at a glacial pace, though, it appears.
The latest word on the shelter plans is that city staff and representatives of community groups that work with the unhoused are hoping to have a meeting of the minds in August to discuss next steps.
In the meantime, a 57-year-old homeless man was found dead in a tent last month, and in May, another man’s tent burned down.
Today’s release from the Charlottesville PD reported that the department has committed “significant resources” to the encampment, “both in personnel and technology, and continues to do so to help ensure the safety of those living in and visiting the encampment.”
“While around-the-clock staffing at the encampment has not yet been implemented, the department is actively working to maximize law enforcement presence in the area. The department will continue to add public safety measures in an effort to protect our most vulnerable community members,” the PD said in the release.
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Chris Graham
