A homeless prolific repeat offender with multiple prior arrests is now facing investigation for rape and kidnapping after police say he lured a 15-year-old girl from a North Seattle bus stop and dragged her into nearby woods before sexually assaulting her.
Joshua V. Kowalczewski, 36, appeared in King County Superior Court proceedings Monday after prosecutors argued there was probable cause to hold him for investigation of first-degree rape, third-degree rape of a child, and first-degree kidnapping.
The allegations stem from a horrifying attack Sunday morning near Northeast 103rd Street and 5th Avenue Northeast in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood.
According to court documents obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, the teenage victim was waiting at a bus stop when Kowalczewski approached her with a bicycle and began asking personal questions, including her age and grade level. The girl told police she informed him she was 15 years old and in the 10th grade.
Police say Kowalczewski then repeatedly complimented the girl’s appearance and instructed her to follow him into a wooded area adjacent to the bus stop.
“He asked her to go into the wooded area just to the east of the bus stop,” the probable cause statement says. “She did not so he told her, ‘Come now!’ She was fearful of what he might do if she did not follow him.”
According to police, once inside the woods, Kowalczewski grabbed the girl’s arm, forced her against a tree, covered her mouth when she attempted to scream, and used physical force to compel her to perform oral sex before she was finally able to pull away and scream loudly enough to attract attention.
A witness who had been monitoring the interaction from across the street told detectives he became alarmed after seeing an adult man speaking with what appeared to be a child before the two disappeared into the wooded area. Moments later, he heard screaming.
The witness then reportedly saw Kowalczewski and the crying teenager emerge from the woods, with the victim appearing “terrified” as the suspect fled northbound on foot.
Seattle firefighters and medics treated the girl at the scene before transporting her to Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Roughly two hours later, firefighters spotted a man matching the suspect’s description near North 107th Street and Stone Avenue North. According to police, the man was openly defecating in public and discarded a black shirt with a distinctive red graphic while walking away. The responding firefighters recognized him from the earlier assault scene and alerted Seattle police.
Officers arrested Kowalczewski shortly afterward near Aurora Avenue North and North 115th Street.
Court records show investigators also obtained surveillance footage from a nearby business that allegedly captured Kowalczewski wearing the same black shirt, black pants, and black beanie described by the victim shortly before the assault.
Despite the severity of the allegations, prosecutors acknowledged Monday that Kowalczewski has never previously faced a felony prosecution in King County with sufficient evidence to move forward, though he has accumulated multiple arrests in recent years.
According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Kowalczewski was previously arrested in a 2024 Shoreline robbery investigation involving the attempted theft of a bicycle; a 2025 Seattle shoplifting incident in which he allegedly bit a security guard; and a separate arrest tied to a Snohomish County domestic violence warrant and fentanyl possession.
Prosecutors noted that the fentanyl case was diverted through the county’s Therapeutic Alternative Diversion program instead of resulting in jail time.
“Today’s incident is unacceptable. Our children should be able to travel safely and enjoy their youth without fear,” Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes said. “As a community, we need to fully support our victims now and in the future. We need to prosecute those responsible for stealing our most vulnerable people’s sense of safety, and work together to stop this from happening again.”
