Cheney police investigators are seeking an individual or individuals who may have witnessed a sexual assault that happened at a party on the night of June 9–10. Police Capt. Rick Beghtol said the actual assault occurred early in the morning of June 10, likely around 2:30 a.m.
Early on the evening of June 9, Beghtol said the 22-year-old female victim contacted some friends to hang out and go to a party before everyone split up for the summer. She told police she contacted a male classmate at Eastern Washington University, who arrived at her residence around 11 p.m. with a friend.
The trio eventually arrived at a party at a residence on the south side of the 1600 block of Second Street. Beghtol said the woman admitted to him when questioned that she was not an experienced drinker and often had trouble knowing “when to say when.”
After consuming hard liquor, the woman began feeling ill and went outside to lie in the grass, telling Beghtol she felt she would either pass out or get sick. Her classmate’s friend followed her outside, and as she lay on the grass, he laid on top of her and attempted to grope her, trying to get her to go back to his apartment with him.
The woman managed to get up and walk away, but the male grabbed her and began leading her towards his car parked along Second Street. Beghtol said the woman “was not doing well” physically, and at this point several people passed the pair, with the woman saying she heard a man ask “Hey, is she going to be OK?” to which the alleged perpetrator replied “Yeah, I’ll take care of her.”
“I need to talk to that person to see if he recalled any of that,” Beghtol said of the individual who walked by. “Or, anybody else who attended that party and witnessed anything.”
Beghtol said the man, who had not been drinking, eventually got the woman into his car, where she became sick. While she was vomiting out the window of the vehicle, he sexually assaulted her.
Beghtol said they eventually identified the man, who is not a student at EWU, and tracked him to his family’s residence in Spokane. After setting up surveillance, Beghtol and Cheney Detective Justin Hobbs arrested him during a June 28 traffic stop on a second-degree rape warrant.
After an initial court appearance June 29, the Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s office is waiting on charging the individual pending lab results on physical evidence taken at the scene. Beghtol hopes the individuals who passed the pair on the sidewalk, and any others at the party, will contact him at (509) 535-9233 with additional information.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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