Detectives arrested a suspect Thursday afternoon in the rape of a 21-year-old woman near Whitworth's campus.
Sgt. Dave Reagan said Spokane County Sheriff's deputies arrested Kevin A. Thompson, 20, at his home in the Nine Mile Falls area, just eight miles from Whitworth.
Thompson was booked into Spokane County Jail last night on a charge of first-degree rape, Reagan said.
Investigators say the suspect broke into a home on North Waikiki Road where authorities say he sexually assaulted a 21-year-old woman just after midnight.
The victim was not a Whitworth student, director of communications Greg Orwig said.
"The suspect escaped, and as far as we know has not yet been apprehended," vice president for finance and administration Brian Benzel said in a campus-wide e-mail. "We continue to work with local law enforcement and will keep you apprised of developments."
According to a Spokane County Sheriff's Office release, the residents returned to their rental home on the evening of Oct. 31 after being out for the night.
The suspect entered the home through an unlocked door, woke up one of the residents who was sleeping in the living room and asked for one of the women by name. The resident pointed to the victim's bedroom, thinking that the man knew the woman and went back to sleep.
After sexually assaulting the victim, the suspect left the house out of the basement window, leaving behind his hat and running out of his shoes, according to the Sheriff's office. The suspect also suffered an injury that left blood on the scene.
The Spokane County Sheriff's Office sex crime detectives are investigating the case.
"We're not involved in [investigating] the incident because it's not on campus property," security supervisor Le Roy Fantasia said.
Jessica Davis contributed to this report.
Contact Julie Wootton at julie.wootton@whitworthian.com.
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