Bleach allegedly used to cover up rape
But prosecutors say fingerprints on a window and a lamp link convicted serial rapist Curtis S. Thompson, 45, to the scene of the Aug. 17 rape.
Thompson was charged yesterday with one count each of first-degree burglary, first-degree rape and car theft.
Those charges were added to the 11 felonies Thompson already faces after being arrested Aug. 23 in the University District, accused of forcing his way into an apartment building there and assaulting two women.
He is being held in the King County Jail in lieu of $5 million bail. In documents filed yesterday, prosecutors asked the judge to keep the bail amount high because Thompson presents "an extreme risk to the community."
According to court papers, a man broke into an Eastlake apartment early on Aug. 17. The 29-year-old woman who lived there awoke to find a man on top of her, covering her mouth with a bleach-soaked sock, according to court documents.
He threatened her and demanded money before raping her. At one point, the woman attempted to escape by grabbing a lamp from her nightstand and hitting him in the head with it, but the attacker recovered and bound her hands and feet, according to court documents.
He raped her several times before splashing bleach on her, causing chemical burns. He also poured bleach on the bed, took the bedding to the laundry room to wash it and then stole the woman's car, according to court documents. Prosecutors contend the man was attempting to destroy forensic evidence linking him to the crime scene.
Fingerprints recovered from an open window and from the lamp match Thompson's prints, according to court papers.
Thompson was convicted of four rapes and one attempted rape in King County in 1985. After being arrested in 1985, Thompson told police his behavior was "out of control" and that he was "afraid that he might kill his next victim," according to court documents.
Thompson served more than 17 years in prison for his crimes. Shortly before he was scheduled to be released, prosecutors sought to have him committed to the state's secure treatment center for sexual offenders on McNeil Island, Pierce County. They argued that Thompson had a history of sexual sadism, had refused sex-offender treatment in prison and was likely to offend again.
But a jury was swayed by his attorney's arguments that he had been a model prisoner and developed good relationships with women who worked for the Department of Corrections during his incarceration. He was released in October 2003.
Thompson is scheduled to be arraigned today. If convicted in the Eastlake rape, he would be a candidate for the state's "two strikes" law for persistent sex offenders, which would mean a term of life in prison without the possibility of release.
Jessica Blanchard: 206-464-3896