A 31-year-old caregiver pleaded not guilty July 2 in King County Superior Court, to charges of second-degree rape in connection with alleged attacks on a physically and mentally disabled woman at a Kent assisted-living facility.
Joseph W. Thurura, of Kent, remains at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on $250,000 bail. Kent Police arrested Thurura June 17 at the assisted-living facility on investigation of second-degree rape. The facility is located at 655 W. Smith St.
According to charging papers, detectives used a DNA sample from Thurura to connect him with the 44-year-old woman, who had suffered a miscarriage. That unexpected event was what led enforcement authorities to begin the investigation.
King County prosecutors said the woman is incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse because she is physically helpless and mentally incapacitated. The woman is legally blind and unable to speak. She has the cognitive level of an 11-month-old child.
Thurura told detectives in a March 26 interview that he had never had sexual intercourse with the woman, according to charging papers.
Thurura is slated to return to court Thursday when a trial date could be set or attorneys could ask for more time to prepare the case.
If convicted of second-degree rape, Thurura faces a sentence of 6 1/2 years to 12 1/2 years.
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