Queen Anne woman finds help after sexual assault, not from police

It was 1 a.m., but Rebecca had walked home alone on lower
Queen Anne many nights after rehearsal.

Suddenly, a strange man ambushed her. He smashed her in
the face, sending her reeling to the ground. Then he
climbed atop her and tried to rape her.

“I remember the sound of feet running. He ran up behind me
and hit me,” she recalls. “He was down at my feet and
trying to get up under my dress and I kept kicking and
screaming and hitting.”

Fortunately, neighbors heard her screaming. When they
called out, the attacker ran off.

Rebecca said she laid there, stunned. Her mouth was
bloodied, her head and neck sore from slamming into the
pavement, but the ordeal was far from over. The police
came and filed a report and an ambulance took her to the
cold and crowded Harborview emergency room.

She waited there for several hours before anyone checked
her out.

Eventually, she got some stitches in her mouth, and was
sent home without any advice or information about what
would or could happen next.

She said she figured the police would follow up with her,
warn the neighborhood, put out a sketch, and let her know
what kind of resources were available for crime victims
like her.

“There was no response, in terms of the police informing
the community that a sexual assault had happened,” Rebecca
said.

The Seattle Police Department wouldn’t comment officially
on the record. But a spokesman did tell me they
investigated her case fully, and while they do the best
they can with every crime, there’s only so much they can
do with a limited description and limited resources.

“I feel lucky that I am comfortable searching the Internet
and I’m comfortable asking for help and asking questions
but for somebody who wasn’t, I don’t know what they would
do,” she said.

Rebecca did find there is plenty of help out there for
crime victims, even if not from police. She said that
since she was comfortable asking for help, and asking
questions, she was able to find the local non-profit group
Families &
Friends of Violent Crime Victims. The group is a 24-
hour-a-day hotline to connect people with services ranging
from counseling to medical care.

Her injuries are healing, but she said she admits the
attack left some serious scars inside and out – as certain
sounds trigger specific memories.

UPDATE-The Seattle Police Department revisited Rebecca’s
report following our story and has assigned a detective to
the case after determining it warranted further
investigation.