Man faces 3rd strike, life imprisonment after S. Seattle sexual assault Timothy William Bradford was most recently imprisoned after failing to register as a sex offender

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A 66-year-old man could face life imprisonment if convicted of a sexual assault that occurred in South Seattle last month.

The indecent liberties charge filed against Timothy William Bradford Sept. 26 would be his

"third strike" according to Washington state law, adding to other convictions in Oklahoma considered "most serious offenses" in this state. A third strike conviction warrants a mandatory life sentence.

Investigators say the assault occurred in "broad daylight" in the Sodo neighborhood the afternoon of Sept. 21 and was only stopped because construction workers passing the scene in a van spotted the attack and removed Bradford from on top of his victim.

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Bradford allegedly approached a woman in Pioneer Square that morning and told her he had some money on a card, but needed her help using that card. He offered to give her food if she could assist him, according to an incident report by the Seattle Police Department.

The woman agreed and boarded a bus with him, where they traveled south until they got off the bus near Airport Way South and South Massachusetts Street in Sodo.

When the woman asked Bradford where they were headed, Bradford allegedly pushed her to the ground and assaulted her, saying, "I'm going to do what I want with you." He groped her genitals inside her pans and, when the woman yelled for help, he reportedly hooked his arm around her neck and choked her to stifle her.

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A van carrying several construction workers a passed the area and two of the workers saw the struggle, according to police. They stopped the van and both removed Bradford from atop the woman.

King County Sheriff's deputies detained Bradford near the attack scene and the woman and construction workers all identified him as the assailant.

Bradford remains jailed on $1 million bail. He was most recently imprisoned in 2015 for failure to register as a sex offender and has a criminal history including multiple sex-related offenses.

SeattlePI reporter Lynsi Burton can be reached at 206-448-8381 or lynsiburton@seattlepi.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LynsiBurton_PI. Find more from Lynsi here.