A traffic stop led to the arrest of a 26-year-old man wanted in connection to a sidewalk sex assault that put a University of Wisconsin-Madison student in the hospital with life-threatening injuries early Sunday morning.
Madison resident Brandon A. Thompson is being charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation, Madison police spokeswoman Alyssa Cains told Fox News Digital.
Madison Police Department Chief Shon Barnes said the Fitchburg Police Department stopped Thompson at 1:18 a.m. on Wednesday morning for a registration violation.
Barnes said that Thompson was booked into jail a short time later.
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The police chief said body worn camera video provided by the Fitchburg Police Department confirmed that Thompson was the driver of the vehicle used to flee the scene after the alleged sexual assault, adding that his clothing matched surveillance video near the scene of the crime.
A witness also told police that Thompson said he "just found" the survivor and was "pretending to be an innocent bystander," according to Barnes.
Officials said there was no connection between the suspect and the victim.
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Madison police found the victim at around 3:20 a.m. on Sunday and she was taken to a local hospital with severe injuries. Police didn't speak on her condition during the Wednesday press conference.
One of the victim's friends told WISN-TV that she was found with a broken jaw and was strangled, sexually assaulted, and beaten.
UWPD Chief Roman and Dean of Students Christina Olstad said in a Wednesday statement they are pleased an arrest was made.
"We are grateful to learn of the arrest in the case involving an attack on a UW–Madison student over the weekend. We deeply appreciate the efforts of the Madison Police Department and the support of the community," the statement reads. "Our focus remains on our student and the healing process still ahead of her, and with her family and those close to her. The safety of our Badger community is our utmost concern."
