Man charged with rape in Montgomery campus assault

Montgomery County police charged a 34-year-old man with rape and other offenses after an attack Tuesday at the Montgomery College Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus, during which a female student was sexually assaulted in the performing arts center.

Police charged Nathaniel L. Hart with two counts of first-degree rape, first-degree sexual offense and attempting to escape after arrest, according to a news release Wednesday. He was taken into custody about 8:40 p.m. at a Silver Spring motel.

Nathaniel L. Hart. (Montgomery County Police)

An address for Hart was not listed in the release.

Police received the initial report shortly after 3:30 p.m., authorities said. A lockdown of the campus ended about 90 minutes later.

Police said the attack happened in a second-floor women's restroom in the west section of the performing arts center. The student is 19, according to police spokeswoman Melanie Brenner.

Reports of the incident set off a flurry of activity as police searched for a suspect. Both sections of the campus were shut down, as was the pedestrian bridge between them, and helicopters circled overhead looking for the suspect.