A homeless Seattle-area repeat offender with 28 prior arrests, 13 convictions, 46 lifetime warrants, and nine active warrants across five jurisdictions has now been charged after prosecutors say he targeted a 15-year-old girl at a North Seattle bus stop, forced her into nearby woods, and raped her in broad daylight.
King County prosecutors on Wednesday charged 36-year-old Joshua V. Kowalczewski with first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping following the attack near Northeast 103rd Street and 5th Avenue Northeast in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood.
A judge set bail at $1 million after prosecutors argued Kowalczewski poses a severe threat to public safety and has repeatedly failed to comply with court orders over nearly two decades of criminal activity.
According to court documents obtained by The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI, Kowalczewski’s criminal history includes convictions for assault, drug possession, theft, DUI, violating protection orders, possessing burglary tools, and criminal trespassing.
Court filings show Kowalczewski was already facing pending criminal cases in King County District Court, Seattle Municipal Court, Edmonds Municipal Court, Olympia Municipal Court, and Puyallup Municipal Court before the latest charges were filed.
Among those pending cases were drug possession, theft, obstruction, criminal trespass, and weapons-related charges. Prosecutors also revealed Kowalczewski had been granted entry into Seattle’s “Drug Prosecution Alternative” diversion program just one week before the alleged rape. A condition of the program was that he commit no new crimes.
“Yet despite that admonition, one week later, the defendant commits this violent sex offense,” prosecutors wrote in court filings.
According to charging documents, the victim was waiting at a bus stop on Sunday morning on her way to school when Kowalczewski approached her and began asking personal questions, including her age and grade level. The girl told him she was 15 years old and in the 10th grade.
Investigators say Kowalczewski repeatedly pressured the teenager to follow him into a wooded area near the bus stop. When she initially refused, he allegedly escalated and ordered her into the woods. “You need to come to the forest, right NOW,” Kowalczewski allegedly told the girl.
The victim later told detectives she complied because she feared he would hurt her if she resisted. Once inside the wooded area, prosecutors allege Kowalczewski forced the girl to the ground, covered her mouth when she attempted to scream, and forcibly sexually assaulted her.
Charging documents state Kowalczewski allegedly told the victim, “I know you want it,” before forcing oral sex on the teenager for approximately 30 seconds.
The girl eventually managed to scream loudly enough for nearby construction workers to hear her cries. One witness reportedly became suspicious after watching an adult man approach and speak with what appeared to be a child before both disappeared into the wooded area. Moments later, he heard screaming and saw the victim emerge crying and terrified while Kowalczewski fled northbound.
Seattle firefighters and medics treated the girl before she was transported to Seattle Children’s Hospital for a sexual assault examination.
Police later located surveillance footage allegedly showing Kowalczewski near the crime scene wearing a black beanie and black shirt with a red graphic matching witness descriptions. Firefighters later spotted him near Aurora Avenue North defecating on the sidewalk, after allegedly seeing him burning clothing believed to be connected to the attack.
Detectives say Kowalczewski initially denied speaking with the victim before later admitting he approached her at the bus stop because he thought she was “hot.” He acknowledged asking her to go into the woods but denied sexually assaulting her.
The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI that prosecutors chose to pursue first-degree rape charges instead of rape of a child charges because the former more accurately reflects the violent nature of the alleged attack and carries harsher penalties under Washington law.
“Rape in the First Degree captures the severity of the abduction and forcible nature of the charged offense,” prosecutors said. Kowalczewski is scheduled to be back in court on May 11 for his arraignment.
