Police in Wisconsin's capital have arrested a 26-year-old man in connection with a brutal sidewalk sex assault that left a University of Wisconsin-Madison student with life-threatening injuries early Sunday morning.
Brandon A. Thompson, a city resident, was arrested on charges of first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless injury and strangulation Wednesday morning, Madison police spokeswoman Alyssa Cains told Fox News Digital.
Authorities will give additional details at a news briefing at 4 p.m. CT, she said.
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Police found the victim around 3:20 a.m. Sunday, a block away from Lake Monona, and rushed her to the hospital with severe injuries.
They said previously they believed the attacker was a stranger. Jail records show they booked Thompson into custody shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday.
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A friend of the victim told Milwaukee's WISN-TV that she was found with a broken jaw and had been strangled, beaten and sexually assaulted. An unnamed neighbor said the victim had been abducted off the sidewalk and dragged between two houses.
Police were asking residents to avoid walking alone in the area – especially at night – and to keep an eye out for their surroundings.
This is a breaking news story.