The Washington Post has apparently ended its internal ban on using a colloquial term for Georgetown's most notorious sexual assailant: The "Cuddler." Over the past two years, Georgetown University students and the campus press have invoked the "Cuddler" nickname to refer to a string of odd sexual assaults that have occurred in and around the university. Since 2008, the unidentified assailant has been accused of everything from sneaking into women's beds, covering them with blankets, and even placing his penis on a woman's thigh.

Today, in an item entitled "'Cuddler' reported," Washington Post reporter Matt Zapotosky submitted his own contribution to "Cuddler" lore. Early Sunday morning, Zapotosky reported, a woman awoke to find a man "cuddling in her bed" next to her.

Previously, the Post had avoided using the term "Cuddler" to refer to the dozen-or-so assaults that have plagued the Georgetown area. In a story on the phenomenon from Sept. 2009, Paul Duggan confined his "cuddler" references to direct quotations from Georgetown students, but never invoked the nickname himself. Over the past two years, the Post has only published the word "cuddler" three times: in Zapatosky's story, Duggan's direct quotes, and a "Date Lab" feature in which one blind-dater claimed that he had been told he's "a good cuddler."

There are a couple of good reasons for a crime reporter to avoid "Cuddler":

(1) Placing your penis on a stranger's body is far from cuddly;

(2) It's possible that we're not dealing with a "Cuddler" here, but rather "Cuddlers." As the Post reported back in September, police don't know whether or not the dozen-or-so assaults reported over the past two years were even committed by the same perpetrator. Witness descriptions have yielded a range of heights, ages, and ethnicities, and attacks attributed to a "Cuddler" have been reported as far away as College Park, Md.

The "Cuddler" nickname occupies the space between fact and mythology. He is both a flesh-and-blood crime suspect and an archetype—a convenient shorthand for a pattern of crimes that the cops are unable to pin on one guy. The most recent assault failed to reign in the Cuddler's steadily expanding resume. The victim, Zapotosky reports, was "not able to give officers a good description of the man." And the woman's bed is located almost a mile north of the upper reaches of Georgetown University, on the 3800 block of Calvert Street NW (pictured)—hardly a campus attack.

Zapotosky's item awkwardly attempts to bridge the gap between "Cuddler" legend and reality. "Looks like the District has another 'cuddler' on the loose," he wrote. "His latest victim: a Northwest Washington woman who woke up just before 6:30 a.m. Sunday to find him cuddling her in her bed, police said." Zapotosky's "Cuddler" is both a new suspect ("another 'Cuddler'") and a serial criminal (his victim is merely "his latest").

Of course, there's one good reason to invoke "Cuddler"—since the assaults gained mainstream attention last year, D.C. residents have been fascinated with all things cuddly, and invoking the nickname helps interested parties know that they should listen up. But the Post is less interested in the nickname than readers. When asked about the more liberal use of "cuddler" in official Post copy, criminal justice editor Mike Semel responded, "You're reading more into it than there is. There's nothing going on" in terms of policy.

Additional reporting by Erik Wemple; photo by Darrow Montgomery

Vasile Graure, the Arizona truck driver convicted of setting fire to Glover Park strip club Good Guys in 2007, will be sentenced tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. The sentencing has been postponed several times already this year. Maybe tomorrow, we'll finally get it over with.

On November 20, 2008, Graure was convicted of the following charges:

- Three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed

- Four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon

- One count of aggravated assault while armed

- One count of mayhem while armed

- Two counts of burglary in the second degree while armed

- One count of arson

- One count of felony destruction of property

Here's what he could face on those charges:
- Assault With Intent to Kill While Armed (three counts): 30 years per count

- Assault With a Dangerous Weapon (four counts): 10 years per count

- Aggravated Assault While Armed: 30 years

- Mayhem While Armed: 30 years

- Arson: 10 years

- Burglary II While Armed (two counts): 30 years per count

- Felony Destruction of Property: 10 years

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

The District's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has consented to a raze order filed in October by the owners of Glover Park's gentlemen's dance venue, J.P.'s Night Club. In their 20 plus years in business, the long-running, family-owned business had continually faced critiques from neighbors in the upscale community over matters of crime, alcohol licensing and, well, that other thing.

Local adversaries finally got their wish in January 2008, when a conflagration led to a dramatic fire-and-rescue operation, when eager firemen rescued a (fully clad) employee from the roof as J.P.'s went up in flames. The building was soon boarded up (not hard, it had no windows) and has remained so ever since, even as new businesses have moved into adjoining storefronts.

According to an anonymous commenter, though, Glover Park's strip club strip may yet emerge from the ashes like a glorious, full-nude Phoenix. "Anonymous" writes, "A little birdie told me that a shiny new club will open on the JP's site in a new building in the not so distant future." Those Glover Park residents who like their strip clubs plagued by fire can still head to Good Guys, site of the fall 2007 arson that critically injured a bouncer and left many unclothed employees out in the cold.

- Three counts of assault with intent to kill while armed

- Four counts of assault with a dangerous weapon

- One count of aggravated assault while armed

- One count of mayhem while armed

- Two counts of burglary in the second degree while armed

- One count of arson

- One count of felony destruction of property

Graure's sentencing hearing will be held in January.

At 10:30 this morning, the prosecution called Arefaine Berhane, an employee of the Glover Park Chevron station, to the stand. Berhane, who is Eritrean, speaks English at the Chevron station but appeared with a translator in court.

Berhane took over cashier duties at the Wisconsin Ave. Chevron at around 8 p.m. on the night of the fire. His first customer entered the small store attached to the station and told Berhane his car was out of gas. The customer asked to buy a red gas can with a yellow and black cap. Berhane told him the price of the gas can with tax, took the customer's money, and then gave him his change. The customer left, tried to fill the can with some gas outside, then returned to Berhane and asked to pay for the gasoline with cash. He also asked to buy a lighter.

Berhane told the customer the price of the smallest lighter, plus tax. "Do you have tax on everything?" the customer asked him. "I then joked with him, and said that if you keep asking, I'll tax you on what you're saying as well."

The customer asked Berhane if he had any children. He asked their age. He asked where they were. Berhane told them that they were back in Eritrea. The customer told him it would be great if they could join him here. Then, Berhane sold the man a red lighter to match the color of the gas can.

The man left without getting his change. Berhane expected he would come back once he'd filled his car's tank with gas. The customer never returned. Instead, Berhane says, he heard a rush of sirens. Police descended on the Chevron station. It wasn't long before Berhane realized that their questioning had something to do with the gas can he sold.