One pleads guilty, another found guilty

A Lewes man was found guilty of rape of a senior citizen and a Laurel man pleaded guilty to the rape of a juvenile in court recently.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 28, 2015, a then 43-year-old David Elder entered the home of a 78-year-old Rehoboth Beach woman with whom he was acquainted. Wearing a ski mask, he raped her before riding away on an electric bicycle. The victim recognized the bike and called Elder’s wife, who called 911.

On Dec. 15, 2017, a now 45-year-old Elder was convicted in connection to the incident on charges of first-degree rape, second-degree rape, first-degree burglary and wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony.

He will be officially sentenced on Jan. 26, 2018 and is facing a mandatory life sentence. Elder became a registered sex offender in 1993 after being convicted of second-degree unlawful sexual contact and was declared a habitual offender in 2012 after failing to re-register as a sex offender.

On the other side of the county, in April 2017, 41-year-old Omar Cameron was arrested in Laurel after repeatedly raping a juvenile female over a lengthy period of time, which only ended in early 2017 after she became pregnant. When the girl’s mother learned of the pregnancy, she contacted police, and DNA testing confirmed Cameron had been the one to impregnate her.

Cameron pleaded guilty on Dec. 15, 2017, to charges of second-degree rape, second-degree sexual abuse of a child by a person in a position of trust, fourth-degree rape and endangering the welfare of a child, and faces between 10 and 50 years in prison. His sentencing date is pending.