Moses Lake man sentenced for assaulting woman

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man will be spending over five years in prison for assaulting a woman in 2015.

Michael S. Padgett Jr., 27, of Moses Lake, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to intimidating a witness and second-degree assault. Padgett also entered an In Re Barr plea to possession of methamphetamine-solicitation. The In Re Barr plea indicates Padgett is not pleading guilty to the crime he is pleading to and there is no factual basis for the charge, but he believes there is a substantial risk of being convicted of the crimes he was initially charged with if the case were to proceed to trial.

Following a joint recommendation between Deputy Prosecutor Kate Mathews and defense attorney Robert Kentner, Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz sentenced Padgett to 68 months (5.6 years) in prison.

The victim in the case told police Padgett forcibly injected her with an unknown drug. She said the drug left her partially incapacitated and Padgett proceeded to rape her and video recorded it. A sexual assault nurse examiner located significant bruises on the victim, which were believed to have been a result of a serious physical assault. No conclusive evidence of a rape was found, according to court documents.

Detailing a separate incident, the victim said Padgett threatened her with a knife and demanded oral sex. She claimed he was wearing gloves that smelled of chemicals and he held them over her mouth and nose. The victim said she protested and Padgett hit her and raped her again. In a third incident, the victim said Padgett beat and choked her and pinned her down, injected her with drugs and raped her again. The nurse examiner found marks on the victim that were consistent with strangulation.

In addition, the victim claimed Padgett poisoned her. She detailed an incident in which the air conditioning unit was turned on and she could smell an acidic odor. She said she turned the AC off and left the residence, but Padgett took her back into the house and turned the AC back on. Police took samples from the vents at the residence and sent them to a crime lab for analysis.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.