Man arrested for attempting to drag teen girl into Seattle woods, assaulting her

Seattle police arrested a 36-year-old man on Monday morning after he allegedly tried to drag a teenage girl into the woods in the city’s Northgate neighborhood and raped her.

According to Seattle Police, officers responded around 9 am to reports that a man was attempting to drag a girl into a wooded area near Northeast 103rd Street and 5th Avenue Northeast. When police arrived, they found the teen suffering from minor injuries. The suspect had fled on foot. Seattle firefighters treated the girl at the scene before medics transported her to Seattle Children’s Hospital for evaluation. Detectives later determined that the suspect had allegedly lured the teen away from a bus stop and into a nearby wooded area, where the assault occurred.
 

Court documents state that police were dispatched to the area of 103 St and 5th Ave NE for reports of a male attempting to drag a teen girl from the bus stop to a wooded area nearby. The victim was waiting at the bus stop when she was approached by Joshua Kowalczewski, who asked what grade she was in and how old she was. A statement of probable cause read, "She did not want to engage in conversation but did not want to be rude."

He told her that she was attractive and asked that she go with him to the wooded area. When she didn’t go with him, he told her, "come now." The court doc said, "She was fearful of what he might do if she did not follow him."

In the wooded area, she attempted to scream, but he placed a hand on her mouth and grabbed her arm. He then allegedly forced her to perform oral sex on him. "After about three seconds, she was able to pull her head back and scream. He then disengaged and fled the woods."

A witness told detectives he saw Kowalczewski approach the girl and "paid attention as she appeared to be a kid and thought it was suspicious." He attempted to follow the pair when they headed into the wooded area and heard the girl scream. "She was crying and looked terrified and the suspect fled northbound."

At around 10:50 am, officers located the suspect near Aurora Avenue North and North 115th Street and arrested him. Police said the suspect was taken to Seattle Police Headquarters for questioning. The suspect also had multiple outstanding warrants out of Snohomish County and Puyallup Municipal Court, according to police. Joshua Kowalczewski was booked into King County Jail for investigation of rape and kidnapping.

“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.”

"To victims of sexual assault, this City is here to support you."