American News May 14, 2026
Family of 15-year-old raped in Seattle woods blasts system that freed career criminal with 46 warrants
The judge also ordered media outlets not to show the suspect’s face in court because of potential identification issues that might arise during the trial.
Ari Hoffman
Seattle WA
May 14, 2026
A 15-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted after being lured from a bus stop in Seattle’s Northgate neighborhood is now “forever scarred,” according to an emotional statement from her family read in court Wednesday morning. “This individual has completely turned our family’s everyday life into a living hell,” Julia Roman, a King County victim advocate, read on behalf of the victim’s parents.
Joshua V. Kowalczewski, a 36-year-old homeless career criminal with dozens of prior arrests and active warrants across multiple Washington cities, pleaded not guilty to first-degree rape and second-degree kidnapping in King County court. The judge set bail at $1 million and granted a protection order for the victim. Kowalczewski remains in custody. However, according to KOMO News, the judge also ordered media outlets not to show the suspect’s face in court because of potential identification issues that might arise during the trial.
Kowalczewski had been accepted into Seattle’s “Drug Prosecution Alternative” diversion program just seven days before the alleged rape — a program that required him to commit no new crimes. “Yet despite that admonition, one week later, the defendant commits this violent sex offense,” prosecutors wrote in court filings.
https://thepostmillennial.com/family-of-15-year-old-raped-in-seattle-woods-blasts-system-that-freed-career-criminal-with-46-warrants
