Prosecutors Drop Rape And Kidnapping Charges Against All Members Of Decapitated

Nicholas K. Geranios / AP

Prosecutors Drop Rape And Kidnapping Charges Against All Members Of Decapitated

Nicholas K. Geranios / AP

Prosecutors in Spokane County have dropped all charges against the members of Polish metal band Decapitated, The Spokesman-Review reports. All four members of the band — Waclaw Kieltyka, 35, Michal Lysejko, 27, Rafal Piotrowski, 31, and Hubert Wiecek, 30 — were scheduled to face trial on rape and kidnapping charges later this month stemming from an alleged gang rape on their tour bus after a concert in Spokane last August.

Spokane County prosecutor Kelly Fitzgerald filed a motion dropping all charges “without prejudice,” which leaves open the possibility of prosecuting the band members later. Fitzgerald cited the victim’s wellbeing as her reason for dropping the charges, noting that a long trial could be emotionally taxing: “We’ve discussed with her and her advocates and feel at this time it’s best for her to heal.” Jeffry Finer, an attorney for Piotrowsk, said the band had expected charges to be dropped once the full scope of evidence could be gathered and considered: “A close review of the evidence is all it took.”

The night of the incident, the victim told police all four band members had violently raped her on their tour bus, and at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center police noted “significant bruising to her upper arms consistent with being restrained” and “small abrasions to her knuckles that were scabbed over.” The defense had been planning to cast doubt on the alleged victim’s testimony by noting she admitted to lying to police in a separate incident in 2014. As a means to explain the accuser’s bruises and abrasions, the defense had been planning to call several people who attended the concert as witnesses to testify the accuser had been violently moshing at the show. All four band members pled not guilty in October and were released on recognizance late last year but had been instructed to remain within the state of Washington.

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