Polish metal band Decapitated accused of gang-raping Spokane woman after concert

A woman said she was gang-raped by all four members of the Polish death metal band Decapitated in the bathroom of their tour bus after an Aug. 31 concert in downtown Spokane, according to court documents released Monday.

The band members – Michal Lysejko, 27; Waclaw Kieltyka, 35; Rafal Piotrowski, 31; and Hubert Wiecek, 30 – were arrested after another show early Saturday in Santa Ana, California, on charges of first-degree kidnapping. Decapitated had been on tour with Australian band Thy Art is Murder.

The alleged victim and her friend told Spokane police they attended the Aug. 31 show at The Pin, 412 W. Sprague Ave., and afterward tried to get pictures with the drummer from another band, according to court documents. A security guard told police the show ended at about 11 p.m.

The women said they ended up speaking with members of Decapitated and were invited to have drinks in the tour bus parked outside the venue, according to court documents.

One woman “described being excited to be on the bus, and then one of the band members began grabbing her breasts,” court documents say. “He was later identified as the drummer, Michal Lysejko.”

The same woman “was uncomfortable and said the band members began speaking to each other in Polish,” court documents say. “She described the ‘vibe’ in the bus changed, and one of the members began looking at them like they were prey.”

Members of heavy metal band Decapitated arrested for suspected kidnapping in Spokane

All four members of the Polish death metal band Decapitated were arrested early Saturday in Santa Ana, California, on suspicion of kidnapping a woman after their Aug. 31 concert in Spokane. | Read more »

The woman said she looked at her friend “to signal they needed to get out of there.” She then used the bathroom and was followed by the lead singer, Piotrowski, according to court documents.

The woman told police Piotrowski began kissing her as she finished using the bathroom, and she began resisting when he started undoing her belt, according to court documents. She said she wanted to leave the bus with her friend, but a band member indicated her friend had already left, saying, “You have to have fun. She left you.”

The woman “attempted to push Piotrowski away but he grabbed her arm and spun her around to where she was facing the sink and mirror in the bathroom,” court documents say. “She saw in the mirror and out of the corner of her eye each of the band members taking turns raping her.”

The friend, meanwhile, said she watched the band members rape the other woman, and Piotrowski asked her to perform oral sex on him. When the friend refused, court documents say, “she was pushed to the ground and received bruises to her knees and shins.”

Shortly after leaving the tour bus and driving away, at 12:43 p.m., the friend was pulled over on North Washington Street near West Boone Avenue on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to court documents.

In the back seat of a patrol car, the friend was allowed to use her cellphone to call the other woman, who reported the rape. A state trooper said he couldn’t help without a specific location and proceeded with his DUI investigation.

The alleged victim “described her body as feeling broken,” court documents say. “After an unknown amount of time,” she told police, “Waclaw (Kieltyka) helped her put her clothing on and carried her out of the bus with another male.”

She walked north from The Pin and called several family members before calling 911, according to court documents. An officer found her near North Post Street and West Buckeye Avenue, about 2 miles from the venue. The officer also stopped by The Pin and “checked the area for the tour bus, but the band had already left Spokane for their next venue.”

The woman was taken to Providence Holy Family Hospital for a sexual assault examination.

Detectives noted she had “significant bruising to her upper arms consistent with being restrained” and “small abrasions to her knuckles that were scabbed over.” During the rape, she said, she “was digging her fist into the wall to try and distract herself from what was happening.”

Court documents say detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office interviewed the band members on Thursday.

Lysejko, the drummer, “made no comment other than he did not know who the girls were” when shown a picture of them. “He said he would not talk without using a translator,” court documents say.

Kieltyka, the lead guitarist, told detectives he saw both Piotrowski and Wiecek engaged in a sex acts with the woman in the bathroom. He agreed to have a DNA swab collected as evidence.

Piotrowski “admitted there was a party on the bus and (the women) were present. He then requested an attorney and a translator refusing to make any further statements,” court documents say. He declined to give a DNA sample.

Wiecek, the bassist, admitted the women had been on the bus, but said he “sat on the couch and did not see what was going on,” court documents say. “He then said he needed a translator so he did not misspeak. He also said no one was forced to get on the bus. He then said he did not recall what happened.”

Wiecek also declined to give a DNA sample.

A fifth man, Wojciech Cichocki, told detectives he was asleep in the cab of the tour bus and never saw the woman who reported being raped. Cichocki said he “only briefly” saw the friend who was later pulled over. “He also made a reference to (her) Instagram account but would not elaborate on it,” court documents say.

All four band members are being held in a Los Angeles County jail facing extradition to Spokane. Police have said additional charges are possible.

The Spokane-based attorney representing the band, Steve Graham, said Saturday they would not fight extradition.

“We have witnesses that can testify to the fact that the accuser came to visit the band of her own free will and left on good terms,” he said.

After the rape accusations became public on Monday, Graham added: “Decapitated plan to fully fight the allegations that are brought against them, and we are fully confident that the other side of this story will be heard.”

He declined to comment further.