Commonwealth v. Shaheed Abdullah White; Twenty Years to Serve for Rape of Unconscious Female

Virginia Beach, Va. – Colin D. Stolle, Commonwealth's Attorney for the city of Virginia Beach, announced that Shaheed Abdullah White, age 28, was sentenced today for Rape – Through Mental Incapacity/Helplessness. Circuit Court Judge Kevin M. Duffan sentenced White to forty (40) years in prison, with twenty (20) suspended, leaving twenty (20) years to serve.

White was found guilty by a jury on February 16, 2022. The Commonwealth's evidence proved that on April 17, 2021, Shaheed Abdullah White and the female victim were at a party. The two did not know each other. The victim fell asleep in a bedroom upstairs after drinking alcohol throughout the night. White entered the bedroom where she slept and raped her while she was unconscious. The next morning, the victim realized what happened to her. She underwent a Sexual Assault Nurse Examination (SANE) where evidence was obtained, including possible DNA from her attacker.

The victim described clothing worn by White, and he was subsequently identified using doorbell video footage. When police approached him to question him and serve a search warrant for his DNA, he twice refused to comply with the search warrant and was charged with two counts of obstruction of justice. Police were eventually able to obtain a DNA sample from White, which was sent to the Department of Forensic Science for analysis. White's DNA was determined to be a match to the evidence recovered from the victim.

White has two convictions for Obstructing Justice which stemmed from his refusal to cooperate with the investigation in this case.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorneys Katharine D. Aicher and Zachary T. Burkholder prosecuted this case. Please contact Macie Allen if additional information is desired.