Apartment worker uses master key in attack on sleeping tenant, Washington police say

A maintenance manager used a master key to break into a sleeping woman’s apartment and sexually assault her, Washington police reported.

Officers responding to a welfare check at 2:05 a.m. Friday, March 25, at a Spokane Valley apartment found an “obviously frightened” woman who quietly told them an intruder was still inside her apartment, police said in a news release.

Police found Lee R. McNutt, 39, naked and hiding in a bedroom closet, the release said. He faces charges of rape, burglary, assault, harassment and unlawful imprisonment.

An investigation revealed McNutt used his master key to enter the woman’s apartment as she slept and sexually assault her, police said.

Spokane Valley is a city of 97,000 people east of Spokane.

This story was originally published March 27, 2022 at 1:38 PM with the headline "Apartment worker uses master key in attack on sleeping tenant, Washington police say."