Bail was set at $1 million for a suspect accused of forcing a 15-year-old girl into the woods and raping her in Seattle.
SEATTLE — Prosecutors have charged a man accused of dragging a 15-year-old girl into a wooded area and raping her in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood.
Joshua Kowalczewski, 35, was charged Wednesday with first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping in connection to the May 4 incident.
Although the girl involved in the incident was 15, Casey McNerthney, a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said Kowalczewski was not charged with rape of a child, because first-degree rape “more accurately describe” the suspect’s actions, and a conviction on a child rape charge would carry a less punitive punishment.
Given the victim’s age, the only charge that could be filed is third-degree rape of a child, which has a “substantially” lower sentencing range than first-degree rape, McNerthney said.
Bail was set Wednesday at $1 million, which was the amount prosecutors requested.
On May 4, police said Kowalczewski approached the 15-year-old girl at a bus stop near Fifth Avenue Northeast and Northeast 103rd Street and asked her questions, including her age, before he forced her into the woods.
Kowalczewski is accused of forcing her to have oral sex before she screamed and was able to escape.
A nearby construction worker heard the screams and called 911, prosecutors said.
Kowalczewski is expected to enter a plea on the charges May 11.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. Additional resources are available on the Washington State Department of Health’s website.
Additional resources are available through the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center at kcsarc.org.
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