UW-Madison student attacked, UWM grad gets $1M bond

MADISON, Wis. - A University of Wisconsin student was brutally attacked and raped early Sunday, Sept. 3, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee graduate charged made his initial court appearance Thursday, Sept. 7. Cash bond was set at $1 million.

"Sadly, this was a pretty vicious rape," said William Brown, prosecutor.

Brandon Thompson, 26, is charged with first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation. Police said the victim, a woman in her 20s, was "brutally attacked" and "severely beaten" in downtown Madison.

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Investigation begins

According to Madison police, the victim was found near Wilson and Bedford streets – roughly a half-mile from Kohl Center – around 3:20 a.m. Sunday. The first officer at the scene described the victim's condition as "one of the most horrifying things I've seen," according to a criminal complaint.

She was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. The complaint states the victim suffered a "traumatic brain injury" and was initially placed in a medically induced coma. Her jaw was broken, her eyes were swollen shut and she had "severe" lacerations. A nurse believed the victim had been strangled, and described the sexual assault case as "one of the worst I've seen."

Four days after the attack, the victim remained hospitalized on a feeding tube, largely unable to communicate.

The complaint states a man named "Brandon" told residents in the area the victim needed help. He told a witness that he found the victim in the street but did not want to be around when police came because he was high. He then left the scene. Another witness said they saw the man had dried blood on his hands. Police later identified the man as Thompson.

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"Our investigation revealed that Thompson was at the scene of the crime, as evidenced by a witness during our initial canvass," Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said Wednesday. "Thompson told this witness that he had ‘just found’ our survivor, pretending to be an innocent bystander."

Another witness told police, per the complaint, that the victim was at her apartment the night before the attack. That witness said she sent a text at 2:43 a.m. asking if the victim made it home OK but never heard back. The witness also said the victim was "not a person who partied or a drug user."

Surveillance video

Police said video evidence played a key role in identifying Thompson, along with the witness statements and biological evidence. Based on the victim not responding to the text and witness statements, it is believed the attack took place around 2:40 a.m.

Surveillance showed the victim near Park and Washington around 2:25 a.m. and a Chevrolet sedan parking at nearby Brittingham Park around the same time. A man got out of the car and started walking toward Washington Avenue. The victim kept walking down Washington Avenue toward Bedford Street, and the complaint states surveillance showed her pass an apartment building on Bedford Street with someone following her around 2:37 a.m.

At around 3 a.m., the Chevrolet was seen leaving Brittingham Park and driving to the area of Washington and Bedford. That video captured the car's license plate, the complaint states.

Investigators learned a Fitchburg police officer had pulled over the same car around 1:20 a.m. the morning of the attack, and the officer's body camera footage showed the driver, Thompson, wearing the same clothing as the man who got out of the car at Brittingham Park and walked toward Washington Avenue. Thompson was later arrested at a hospital and made "incriminating statements."

Thompson in custody

While speaking to police, the complaint states Thompson said he was mad and "wanted to hit something." He admitted he encountered a woman, "saw red" and "didn't know what was going on." The next thing he remembered, per the complaint, the woman was on the ground in front of him, and "She came across a monster." He said he did not remember the sexual assault, but said he "went into a rage." Asked if he could have sexually assaulted the victim, Thompson said: "I could have."

Forensic analysis compared Thompson's DNA to a single source of "foreign male" DNA found on the victim. That DNA was "consistent with the profile of Brandon Thompson," the complaint states, with a "probability of one in one quadrillion" – noted as the "highest probability that the Wisconsin State Crime Lab will identify."

Wisconsin court records indicate Thompson has no criminal history, and police said there is no known connection between Thompson and the victim.

A UWM graduate

In a statement Thursday, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee confirmed Thompson was a 2019 graduate of the criminal justice program, adding: "The attack in Madison has disheartened everyone, and we are keeping the victim and her family in our thoughts."

"All in all this is a case in which you have someone who’s going to likely spend the remainder of their life in the state prison system," said Brown.

Cash bond was set at $1 million in court Thursday as Thompson's attorney argued for $10,000.

"Ultimately, safety of the public does not need to mean can never get out, can never pay an amount," said Emily Bell, defense attorney. "It should mean an amount that's meaningful to the individualized defendant."

Thompson's legal team sent photos Thursday saying he's a UWM grad who grew up in a military family, cautioning it's still early in the case.

Prosecutors and police said they have the right guy. 

"We will continue to work hard to ensure Mr. Thompson is held fully accountable in the court of law for the heinous act he perpetrated," said Assistant Police Chief Paige Valenta.