A 20-year-old Skyway man who prosecutors allege sexually assaulted a woman in Skyway at knifepoint has been charged with rape, robbery and kidnapping.
His victim was responding to a Craigslist ad looking for a nude model when, according to prosecutors, the man held a knife to her throat and forced her to have sex.
Jermaine Litton Route was charged with the three felonies Wednesday in King County Superior Court. He is being held on $500,000 bail at the jail in the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.
His arraignment is Jan. 25 in Kent.
Route is a suspect in two similar attacks a few weeks ago and faces additional charges, said Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for the King County Prosecutor’s Office.
Route has an extensive criminal history, including felony convictions for drug, assault and vehicle theft charges, as well as for misdemeanor charges for reckless driving, robbery, theft and possession of stolen property.
What happened in the McDonald’s parking lot on Rainier Avenue South and in Skyway on Jan. 6 is described in the charging documents.
The victim stopped at the parking lot to take a call on her cell phone. Route, whom she had never met, approached and got into the car before she could lock the doors.
According to prosecutors, Route held a knife to her throat and told her to drive to Skyway. He took her ID, debit card and cell phone. He threw what was left in her purse out the window.
He ordered her to pull over on 75th Avenue South – about three blocks from his home. She was sexually assaulted as a knife was held to her throat, according to charging documents.
They drove some more, then he got out of her car with her ID, debit card and cell phone. She called 911.
The next day, detectives found a fingerprint belonging to Route in the victim’s car. He was arrested on Jan. 8 away from his home. Detectives found the victim’s ID and debit card in his dresser.
In an interview, the victim told detectives she was responding to Route’s ad on Craigslist.com for a model for a nude photo shoot. She went to his house, but left without contacting him because she didn’t like the neighborhood, according to charging papers.
However, she called to tell him she was in the McDonald’s parking. He arrived later. Route gave detectives differing versions of what happened that evening. He claimed the victim was a prostitute.
He admitted there was sexual contact and he took her propety. He said he didn’t pull a knife on her or kidnap her.
In asking for the $500,000 bail, prosecutors wrote that Route “is an extreme danger to the community and to this victim. If released, he is likely to commit another violent offense.”
According to prosecutors, Route also is charged in a separate case with first-degree robbery. In that case, he responded to a Craigslist ad in which he agreed to sell cell phones to the victim for $2,000.
He arranged to meet the victim and stole $2,000 from him at gunpoint in the victim’s vehicle, according to prosecutors.
