Ephrata man gets 15 months for rape

EPHRATA — An Ephrata man will be spending over a year behind prison bars for raping a woman in Ephrata in May.

Jose Diaz Avalos, 27, of Ephrata, pleaded guilty in Grant County Superior Court to third-degree rape (lack of consent) and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

The sentence stems from a call received by the Ephrata Police Department on May 21 with regard to a sexual assault. The victim in the incident told police she was asleep in her bedroom when she awoke to a clicking sound coming from her bathroom door knob. She reported seeing Diaz Avalos, her ex-boyfriend, enter her room through the bathroom door, then immediately exit the room and re-enter the bathroom, where he locked the door from the inside, according to court documents.

Diaz Avalos entered the bedroom again through the hallway door and stood over the victim, pulled off her underwear and raped her. The victim told Diaz Avalos to stop and as she was calling police he fled out of her bedroom window. Diaz Avalos was contacted a few hours after the incident in the 200 block of 14th Avenue Southwest and was taken into custody for questioning after police were forced to deploy a Taser on him due to his erratic behavior. Diaz Avalos said he went over to the victim’s residence a few hours before the rape and “hung outside without anyone knowing for approximately two hours total.”

He claimed he heard thumping noises inside the residence and he went on to enter the home through a small window next to the front door. He admitted to going into the victim’s bedroom and claimed she was naked, which Diaz Avalos “strongly” suggested during his interview with police was a result of her “cheating on him,” despite the pair not being romantically involved at the time.

He said because he caught her cheating she wouldn’t deny him sex “so he took advantage of the situation.” He then admitted to having sex with her and claimed she was hesitant at first but did not tell him to stop. Diaz Avalos claimed he tried to have sex with her a second time but she pushed him off. A third attempt at sex, Diaz Avalos says, was successful, after which the victim pushed him off of her again.

It was then that Diaz Avalos admitted to wanting more sex so he grabbed the woman, shoved her back on the bed and proceeded to rape her.

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