ID cards of Tacoma rape victims found inside Lacey man’s home, prosecutors say

A Lacey man accused of raping multiple women at knifepoint after picking them up in Tacoma was charged Tuesday in Pierce County Superior Court with five felonies.

Mark Raney, 38, was arraigned on two counts of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree kidnapping and one count of first-degree robbery. Court Commissioner Meagan Foley set his bail at $1 million and ordered him to not contact the victims.

Prosecutors noted Raney will face charges related to other, similar sexual assaults in the Tacoma area.

According to charging documents:

One of the women reported her purse and cellphone were stolen after she was sexually assaulted at knifepoint Saturday night. She said she had been at a gas station, waiting for a ride, when Raney drove up and offered to drive her to Parkland.

Tacoma police officers working the case early Sunday noted the woman’s description of Raney’s vehicle was similar to one used in four other reported sexual assaults in the South End and East Tacoma in the past month. Two other officers said they had ran the license plate of a beige Chevrolet Tahoe that night, and the address returned to a home in Lacey.

Lacey police drove to the registered address but did not see the vehicle. They said the registered owner’s son also lived in the city and his driver’s license photo matched the description of the rape suspect. The vehicle was found at the son’s home.

Police served a search warrant at the home and found the woman’s ID card in the master bedroom, as well as a folding knife and the ID of another woman.

A detective waited outside the home and arrested Rainey shortly after he left Sunday night in the Tahoe. He told the detective he had a folding knife in his pocket before being taken to Tacoma to be interviewed.

Raney admitted to picking up prostitutes in Tacoma for the past 18 months, and said he carried a knife with him because the first prostitute he tried to patronize had robbed him. He said he paid them all and took out the knife only once — Saturday — but later said he had held it during at least one other incident.

He eventually admitted that pulling out the knife prompted the prostitutes to flee before he had to pay them.

Raney’s current charges stem from two incidents, but Tacoma police have said there are at least two more victims and expect more than that.

Police have asked anyone else who had contact with Raney in the Tacoma area to call 253-591-5968.

This story was originally published September 4, 2018 at 2:46 PM.