Derrick Dewayne CaldwellChattanooga police detectives have linked a man charged with raping two women last week to an October assault.
Derrick Dewayne Caldwell, 30, now is charged with aggravated sexual battery in addition to two charges of aggravated rape and three charges of aggravated burglary. Police say Caldwell broke into the Hixson and Brainerd homes of two older women on Dec. 10 and 11 and raped them.
In both attacks, the women said Caldwell broke into their homes at night and raped them in their bedrooms. Afterward, one woman reported that Caldwell told her he had just been released from jail -- he had recently pleaded guilty to a criminal trespassing charge -- and needed sex.
That story is eerily similar to the incident, months earlier, that prompted the new charges.
Just before 5:30 a.m. on Oct. 11, police responded to a burglary in progress in Chattanooga. The woman living in the house told them a man had broken into her house and pinned her to her bed with a couch cushion. He told her he "had not had sex in one year, and just needed sex," according to an arrest affidavit.
The woman told her attacker that her brother would be home soon. He told her he wouldn't hurt her, but needed sex, and asked her to have sex with him. He told the woman to lift up her skirt so he could see her "booty," according to the affidavit. He said he was having a lot of issues and asked "this is all going to catch up to me, isn't it?" the arrest affidavit stated.
When Caldwell left, the woman called 911. She provided a detailed description to police, and they used it to identify Caldwell, who had been interviewed by Red Bank police a few hours earlier.
Caldwell was jailed for possession of marijuana charges Dec. 12. He was arrested again on Dec. 13 for sleeping in a coin laundry. On Dec. 17, he was charged with two counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated burglary. Investigators added the aggravated sexual battery charge in connection with the October incident on Dec. 19.
Caldwell was booked into the Hamilton County Jail, where he is being held on $600,000 bond. On Monday his appearance in Hamilton County General Sessions Court was rescheduled for Jan. 15.
Contact staff writer Claire Wiseman at cwise man@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347.