Ex-Microsoft worker pleads guilty in rapes, impersonation of cop

A former Microsoft employee has pleaded guilty to rape and impersonating a police officer for using a badge, a gun and the threat of arrest to force two women he'd contacted through Craigslist into having sex with him.

Sasidhar Vanapalli, 28, also pleaded guilty to first-degree extortion Monday, the day his trial was to begin in King County Superior Court.

According to court documents, Vanapalli contacted the two women through the free classified ad Web site last year, arranged to meet them and, when he did, claimed he was a police officer. He even produced a badge and handgun, court documents said.

Vanapalli threatened to arrest the women for prostitution if they refused to have sex with him, according to charging papers. He told one of the women that he could keep her out of jail if she would meet him once a week to have sex without charging him.

His attorney, John Henry Browne, said he was prepared to argue that Vanapalli was involved in a "role-playing game" with the women had the case gone to trial. Had he been tried and convicted as charged, Vanapalli faced 22 years in prison.

But in a plea deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend a prison sentence of about 10 ½ years in exchange for Vanapalli's guilty pleas.

Vanapalli could still face life in prison because a conviction on a sex crime makes him eligible for an indeterminate sentence. The state's Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board could decide he should face an even longer term — including up to life — in prison.

According to police and prosecutors, on Oct. 3, Vanapalli contacted the first victim, a 19-year-old who had advertised as an escort. That woman did not initially report the rape, court documents say.

The second victim, an 18-year-old Mountlake Terrace woman who was offering massages, was contacted by Vanapalli on Oct. 17, according to charging documents. She agreed to meet Vanapalli at an apartment in Redmond, police and prosecutors say.

Vanapalli held a gun to her head, flashed a badge and told her she would be arrested for prostitution if she did not have sex with him, according to court charging documents.

When Bellevue police arrested Vanapalli on Oct. 20, they found a badge, homemade police identification, handcuffs and a black BB gun that looked like a handgun in his apartment, a police spokesman said.

Both victims identified Vanapalli through a photo montage, according to charging documents.

According to Det. Ann Fein, of the Redmond Police Department, the victims were pleased with the resolution of the cases.A sentencing date has not been set.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com