Accused rapist faces 20 additional charges

TACOMA – A man charged in a series of rapes has pleaded not guilty to 20 new charges filed against him in Pierce County.

The latest charges against Anthony Casper Dias, 26, are: seven counts of first-degree rape, seven counts of first-degree kidnapping, three counts of first-degree burglary and three counts of first-degree robbery. He was arraigned on the charges Friday.

Investigators believe Dias broke into several homes in Pierce and King counties last summer and fall, where he cut phone lines, tied people up and repeatedly raped women while wearing a ski mask and holding a gun.

He has already been charged in King County with 19 crimes related to three attacks in Federal Way and Des Moines last fall. He’s facing 100 years in prison there.

He has pleaded not guilty there to rape, robbery, burglary, unlawful imprisonment, assault and indecent liberties in connection to attacks on Oct. 28, Oct. 31 and Nov. 8.

Pierce County prosecutors say their charges stem from three incidents in Fircrest and Tacoma last year, involving rapes of two women.

According to court documents describing the Aug. 31 attack, Dias told a 19-year-old woman he would kill her if she cried and hit her on the head with a gun. Prosecutors say for an hour and a half he forced her to have sex in various ways, then kissed her, bit her and put a gun to her head.

In the Oct. 9 incident, prosecutors allege Dias tied up a 24-year-old and a 30-year-old woman and then raped another 24-year-old woman multiple times in various ways.

In the Oct. 31 attack, prosecutors say Dias bound two men in a house, ordered a woman to take off her clothes and then led her around the house demanding money. Investigators allege he then demanded that she call another woman and tell her to bring money but by the time that woman arrived, the men had freed themselves and run for help.