Police: Olympia woman sexually assaulted by man she met on Facebook

OLYMPIA -- A 22-year-old Olympia woman said she was sexually assaulted by a man she met for the first time after communicating with him for several weeks on Facebook, police said Tuesday.

"The victim ... reported that over the course of the last several weeks she had met a man on Facebook and began a friendship," the Olympia Police Department said in a news release.

She agreed to meet the 20-year-old man at a shopping plaza in the 34000 block of Pacific Avenue in Olympia Monday night.

"The victim reported that the suspect arrived and they sat in his car in the parking lot to talk. Shortly after, the suspect drove his car behind the strip mall into a dark corner against the wishes of the victim," the police news release said.

"The suspect then began kissing and groping her. She protested and told the male to stop immediately, at which point the male reached into the car glove box and pulled out a handgun," the release said.

"The suspect held the handgun against the woman’s head and ordered her to perform a sexual act. The suspect then hit the victim in the mouth and on the back, causing minor injuries," the release said.

"At one point during the assault, the victim was able to grab the handgun and wrestle it from the suspect’s hands. She jumped out of the car, threw the handgun into a wooded area and fled to a nearby store where she called 911. Meanwhile, the suspect drove off."

Police were able to find the handgun later and used the victim's Facebook account to obtain a photo of the suspect. Further investigation led to the suspect's address in Lakewood.

After an investigation of evidence and a police interview, the suspect was arrested and booked into the Thurston County Jail for suspicion of first-degree rape.

The victim did not require hospitalization, police said.