Brandon Thompson (Courtesy: Dane County Jail)
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- A man pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting and beating a UW-Madison student.
- The officer described the victim’s condition as “one of the most horrific things he has ever seen.”
- It happened in September 2023 in downtown Madison.
MADISON, Wis. – A man accused of a “brutal” attack and sexual assault last September pleaded guilty.
Prosecutors charged 27-year-old Brandon Thompson with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation. Thanks to his testimony, he will be able to avoid a trial. His sentencing is scheduled for February 2025.
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Case details
Police said the victim, a woman in her 20s, was “brutally attacked” and “severely beaten” in downtown Madison on Sept. 3, 2023. Prosecutor William Brown called it a “pretty brutal rape” at the time of the charges.
According to Madison police, the victim was found near Wilson and Bedford streets – about a half-mile from the Kohl Center – around 3:20 a.m. that day. The complaint states that the first officer on the scene described the victim’s condition as “one of the most horrific things I have ever seen.”
Madison Police Department
The victim was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The complaint states that the victim suffered a “traumatic brain injury” and was initially placed in a medically induced coma. Her jaw was broken, her eyes were swollen and she had “severe” lacerations. The nurse believed the victim had been strangled and described the sexual assault case as “one of the worst she had seen.”
Four days after the attack, the victim remained in hospital, connected to a tube feeding, and largely unable to communicate.
The complaint says a man named “Brandon” told area residents the victim needed help. He told the witness he found the victim on the street but didn’t want to be around when police arrived because he was under the influence of alcohol. He then left the scene. Another witness said he saw the man had dried blood on his hands. Police later identified the man as Thompson.
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“Our investigation revealed that Thompson was at the scene, which was confirmed by a witness during our preliminary interview,” Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said. “Thompson told the witness he ‘just found’ our survivor by pretending to be an innocent bystander.”
Another witness told police the victim was at his apartment the night before the attack, according to the complaint. The witness said she sent a text message at 2:43 a.m. asking if the victim made it home, but never received a reply. The witness also said the victim “was not a party person or drug user.”
Police said video footage played a key role in identifying Thompson, as did witness statements and biological evidence. Based on the victim’s lack of response to the text message and witness statements, it is assumed that the attack occurred around 2:40 a.m.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Surveillance showed the victim near Park and Washington around 2:25 a.m. and a Chevrolet sedan parked at nearby Brittingham Park around the same time. The man got out of the car and started walking towards Washington Avenue. The victim continued walking on Washington Avenue toward Bedford Street, and surveillance shows he passed an apartment building on Bedford Street and was followed by someone at approximately 2:37 a.m.
At approximately 3 a.m., a Chevrolet was seen leaving Brittingham Park heading to the Washington and Bedford area. The complaint said the car’s license plate was captured on video.
Investigators learned that a Fitchburg police officer stopped the same car around 1:20 a.m. on the day of the attack, and that officer body camera footage showed that the driver, Thompson, was wearing the same clothes as the man who got out of the car. car in Brittingham. He parked and walked toward Washington Avenue. Thompson was later arrested at the hospital and made “incriminating statements.”
Thompson in custody
During an interview with police, Thompson stated that he was angry and “wanted to hit something.” He admitted that he met the woman, “saw red” and “didn’t know what was going on.” The next thing he knew, according to the complaint, was a woman lying on the ground in front of him and “stumbled upon a monster.” He said he had no memory of the sexual assault, but “he went berserk.” When asked if he could have committed sexual assault, Thompson replied, “I could.”
Forensic analysis compared Thompson’s DNA to a single source of “alien male” DNA found on the victim. That DNA was “consistent with Brandon Thompson’s profile,” the complaint states, and the “probability was one in one quadrillion” – the “highest probability the Wisconsin State Crime Laboratory will identify.”
Wisconsin court records show Thompson had no criminal history, and police said there was no connection between Thompson and the victim.
Source
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FOX6 News obtained information for this story from the Madison Police Department, the Dane County District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. District Court of Wisconsin.
