A man is headed to prison after raping a woman while her children hid in their bedroom in Kennewick.
Alex Scott Rambo admitted to a December 2023 rampage that left a woman with several broken ribs and facial injuries. The damage required multiple surgeries and she ended up being physically and emotionally devastated by the attack.
Rambo, 21, pleaded guilty in Benton County Superior Court to third-degree rape, first-degree burglary, two counts of second-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment.
All of the crimes were domestic violence, committed within sight of the woman’s children and left her with severe injuries. These factors allowed the judge to sentence Rambo above the 8 1/2 years maximum prison sentence he initially faced.
Prosecutors and his defense attorney, Karla Kane, agreed to recommend a nine year sentence.
Judge Joe Burrowes had a difficult time reading the details associated with the brutal case, he said as he was sentencing Rambo last week. He paused before accepting the recommendation.
“I was taken aback by the affidavit of probable cause,” he said. “This can’t ever happen again. Take advantage of all of the services available to you.”
Deputy Prosecutor Holai Holbrook explained the woman Rambo raped couldn’t bring herself to come into the courtroom for his sentencing. Instead she sent a message to the deputy prosecutor.
She didn’t want to relive the attack, but she did want Rambo to know that it was his fault that she had lost her home.
His defense attorney Karla Kane explained that Rambo had been in a sad situation, and the crime was exacerbated by this youth and by alcohol.
“I can’t express how bad he feels about how he let his anger get the better of him,” she said. “This is a very harsh sentence and he’s going to have a lot of time in DOC (Department of Corrections) custody. ... He’s going to come out a better person.”
Rambo didn’t add anything.
Break-in and rape
The victim had picked up Rambo from a Spokane rehabilitation facility on Dec. 23, 2023 and brought him back to Kennewick. He lived in the neighboring home and was visiting while she was talking with her boyfriend in California.
Rambo became angry when the woman turned down his advances and began punching her. When she threatened to call police, he hid her phone.
The woman’s three young daughters were in the house at the time, and she yelled at them to run to a bedroom and shut the door, which they did.
The woman was able to escape at one point and Rambo chased her outside, grabbed her and started to punch her face and side.
After the second attack, the woman managed to lock Rambo out of her apartment. He then busted his way through the sliding glass door and broke into the bathroom where she was heading.
Then he raped the woman.
At some point during the multiple attacks, he also strangled her and bit her. Police noted there were bruises on her face and neck.
After his attack, he left the apartment with another woman and the victim called police. She was brought to a local hospital for treatment.
Rambo showed up at the hospital she had been taken to about three days after the attack and reported that he “tried to bite his girlfriend’s nose off.”
He admitted to police that he attacked the woman, claiming that she was his girlfriend. He denied raping her and said the sex was consensual.
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