21-year-old charged with raping former classmate at Prosser rest area

A 21-year-old Tri-City man is accused of taking a former high school classmate to a rest area near Prosser and raping her.

David I. Wacenske Jr. has pleaded innocent in Benton County Superior Court to second-degree rape.

Trial is scheduled Feb. 4.

The woman told Benton County sheriff’s deputies that she had known Wacenske since high school, but had not spoken to him in four months. She was working the evening of Dec. 8 when she got several messages from Wacenske asking to meet and have sex.

The woman said she agreed to meet him but said she only wanted to hang out after work, said Deputy Prosecutor Brandon Pang.

Wacenske picked her up from her job after 11 p.m., took her home to change and then they drove to the Horse Heaven Vista on Highway 221.

She reported that Wacenske parked in a gravel lot near the highway, unbuckled their seat belts, reclined her seat and started kissing her, court documents said.

The victim said she refused his advances and told him to stop, but Wacenske pulled off her clothes, documents said. Wacenske allegedly bit and slapped her, and then raped her.

The woman told deputies she continued to tell him “no,” tried hitting him and reached for the pepper spray on her key ring, but Wacenske put it out of her reach, court documents said.

She eventually managed to get out of the vehicle and refused to get back in and he sped off.

The woman called 911 and deputies found her walking along the highway. She was taken to the Prosser Police Department to be interviewed and then later to the hospital, said court documents. She had multiple bite marks and bruises, said the documents.

Wacenske was arrested and allegedly admitted to having sex with the woman against her will, documents said.

Defense attorney Ryan Swinburnson tried to get Wacenske’s bail lowered to $35,000, saying his entire family lives in either the Tri-Cities or Grandview and he has nowhere else to go and no motivation to run.

Judge Cameron Mitchell went with the prosecutor’s recommendation of $100,000 bail.