Police: Construction workers pull attacker off Seattle jogger Man alleged to have claimed to be God while sexually assaulting Belltown runner; also accused of beating shelter worker

A Seattle man accused of sexually assaulting a jogger in a random attack has been charged in that incident as well as an earlier assault. A Seattle man accused of sexually assaulting a jogger in a random attack has been charged in that incident as well as an earlier assault. Photo: Seattle Municipal Archive Photo: Seattle Municipal Archive Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Police: Construction workers pull attacker off Seattle jogger 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A Seattle man accused of attacking two women in separate assaults told police he believed he was God until one of the women bit him.

King County prosecutors claim Lewis Nyarecha sexually assaulted a woman jogging in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood on Aug. 19. Nyarecha, who is alleged to have attacked a shelter worker days later, is currently jailed.

According to charging papers, Nyarecha kissed and groped a 28-year-old woman at 7 a.m. as she was running on Fifth Avenue near Bell Street.

The woman later told police she saw Nyarecha shouting at another jogger as that woman passed him. She said she hoped to cross the street but could not because of traffic, so she continued toward Nyarecha.

Nyarecha shouted at her as she passed him, then grabbed her from behind, a Seattle Police Department detective said in charging papers. He is alleged to have groped her and kissed her face before she pushed him off.

Yelling incoherently and claiming to be God, Nyarecha dragged the woman to the ground and straddled her, the detective continued. A group of construction workers who heard the woman’s screams tackled Nyarecha seconds later.

Police arrived and arrested Nyarecha, who is alleged to have admitted to attacking the jogger as well as a worker at the New Horizons shelter where he had been living.

Nyarecha told investigators he had been taking LSD and smoking marijuana in the days before he attacked the women, the detective continued. Nyarecha explained that he was removed from the shelter that day after making sexual comments about an employee there and attacking another worker.

The worker sustained bruises, cuts and a strained neck after Nyarecha slammed her into a false wall and tossed her over a couch, according to charging papers. Nyarecha had been yelling “Jesus” loudly before the incident.

Nyarecha told police he was severely disturbed during the incidents. He believed he was God and “living a movie about the Anti-Christ,” the detective said in court papers. He is alleged to have said he snapped out of the delusion when the jogger bit his tongue during the attack.

“Nyarecha said that he was totally conscious of what he was doing to (the woman), but did not have any control over his body,” detective said in court papers.

Nyarecha appears to have arrived in Seattle from Minnesota two months before the assaults. He has been charged with indecent liberties, a sex offense, and misdemeanor assault.

Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or levipulkkinen@seattlepi.com. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.