UW-Madison student assaulted, sexually assaulted; man pleads guilty

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Brandon Thompson (courtesy of Dane County Jail)

MADISON, Wis. – The man accused of “brutally” attacking and sexually assaulting a University of Wisconsin student last September pleaded guilty Thursday.

Prosecutors have charged 27-year-old Brandon Thompson with first-degree assault, reckless battery and strangulation. As a result of his plea, he will avoid a trial. His sentencing is scheduled for February 2025.

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Case details

Police said the victim, a woman in her 20s, was “brutally attacked” and “severely beaten” on September 3, 2023 in downtown Madison. Prosecutor William Brown called it a “pretty brutal rape” when charges were filed.

According to Madison police, the victim was found around 3:20 a.m. that day near Wilson and Bedford streets — about a half-mile from Kohl Center. The first officer on scene described the victim’s condition as “one of the most horrific things I have seen,” according to a criminal complaint.

Madison Police Department

The victim was rushed to a hospital with life-threatening injuries. The complaint states that 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” cuts. A nurse believed the victim had been strangled and described the assault case as “one of the worst I’ve seen”.

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

The complaint states that a man named “Brandon” told residents in the area that the victim needed help. He told a witness that he found the victim on the street, but didn’t want to be around when the 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 investigation,” said Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes. “Thompson told this witness that he had ‘just found’ our survivor, posing as an innocent bystander.”

Another witness told police that the victim was at her apartment the night before the attack, according to the complaint. That witness said she sent a text at 2:43 a.m. asking if the victim was coming home okay, but never heard back. The witness also said the victim “was not a party person or a drug user.”

Police said video evidence played a key role in identifying Thompson, along with witness statements and biological evidence. Because the victim did not respond to the text and witness statements, it is believed the attack occurred around 2:40 am.

University of Wisconsin-Madison

Surveillance showed the victim near Park and Washington around 2:25 a.m. and a Chevrolet sedan parked at nearby Brittingham Park around the same time. A man got out of the car and walked toward Washington Avenue. The victim continued walking down Washington Avenue toward Bedford Street, and the complaint states that she passed an apartment building on Bedford Street around 2:37 a.m. while someone followed her.

Around 3 a.m., the Chevrolet was seen leaving Brittingham Park and heading to the Washington and Bedford area. That video captured the car’s license plate number, the complaint said.

Investigators learned that a Fitchburg police officer had stopped the same car around 1:20 a.m. on 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 into Brittingham. Park and walk towards Washington Avenue. Thompson was later arrested at a hospital and made “incriminating statements”.

Thompson in custody

While speaking with police, the complaint states that Thompson said he was angry and “wanted to hit something.” He admitted that he had encountered a woman, “saw red” and “didn’t know what was going on.” The next thing he remembered, according to the complaint, was the woman lying on the ground in front of him and “she encountered a monster.” He said he had no memory of the assault but “burst into a rage.” When 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.”

Court records in Wisconsin show Thompson has no criminal history, and police said there is no connection between Thompson and the victim.