Bellevue man again accused of impersonating officer, rape

A Bellevue man accused last week of impersonating a police officer to force a woman to have sex with him was charged Tuesday with using similar tactics to rape another woman in Redmond.

Sasidhar Vanapalli, 27, remains in jail on $500,000 bail, charged with one count of rape, one count of extortion and two counts of criminal impersonation, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office.

Vanapalli was accused Tuesday of responding to an 18-year-old Mountlake Terrace woman's Craigslist ad offering massages, said Jim Bove, Redmond Police Department spokesman.

The woman agreed to meet Vanapalli Oct. 17 at an apartment in Redmond, according to charging documents. When she arrived, Vanapalli pointed a gun at her, flashed a badge and told her she would be arrested for prostitution if she did not have sex with him, according to the documents.

Vanapalli forced the woman at gunpoint to perform oral sex and then raped her, according to the documents.

The Redmond apartment was leased to a friend of Vanapalli's who worked with him at Microsoft, according to the documents, and a Microsoft employee told Redmond investigators that Bellevue police were investigating a similar case.

In the Bellevue case, Vanapalli is accused of answering a Craigslist ad for an escort, arranging to pay a 19-year-old woman for sex at his apartment in Bellevue on Oct. 1 and then telling her he was a police officer who would have her arrested for prostitution if she did not have sex with him for free, court documents said. He told her he could keep her out of jail if she had sex with him weekly, according to the documents.

The woman reported the assault nine days later.

Bellevue police arrested Vanapalli on Oct. 20 and found a badge, homemade fake police identification, handcuffs and a pistol in his apartment, said Bellevue Police Department spokesman Greg Grannis.

The victims in the Bellevue and Redmond cases both identified Vanapalli in a photo montage, according to court documents.

Grannis said the woman in the Bellevue case would not face prostitution charges.

"Rape victims should never be afraid to come forward," he said.

Police said there might be more victims and urged them to come forward.

Vanapalli is scheduled for arraignment Nov. 5. If convicted as charged, he faces 20 to 26 years in prison, Donohoe said.

Noelene Clark: 206-464-2321 or nclark@seattletimes.com