"Ceaselessly beside me the Demon writhes...."

--Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs Du Mal

Here is the problem. The crime described in this report is more than awful, yet its reporter, Officer M. J. Berndt, has what a very famous Russian novelist once called a "dar," a gift (or a way) with words. However, had it been badly written, like so many police reports are, the force of the crime, its actual horror, would have been lost in mangled sentences and misused words. In this respect, good writing is morally good, not because it is beautiful (as 17th-century aesthetics would have it) but because it reveals the actual depth of the victim's suffering. Bad writing obscures the truth; good writing throws light on the truth.

The House of Pain/Central District/Wed April 9/1 am: "On the above date and time, I responded to a call [along] Yesler Way in reference to a sexual assault. Upon arrival, the victim stated the following: On Tuesday, April 8, she went to a [popular] nightclub [in the Central District]. She frequents this establishment. There she met the suspect. She had not seen him before. She described him as a black male, 250 lbs, with long black braided hair, brown eyes, wearing khaki pants and a blue and yellow plaid shirt. He spoke with a heavy 'New Orleans' Southern accent. He asked if he could get her a drink and did so. This was her first drink of the night. After she drank, they went to the parking lot to exchange phone numbers. Since it was raining, they got into his vehicle, a maroon Datsun four-door. At that point she passed out.

"She awoke in a strange house sometime the following day. She was in bed and he was on top of her, having intercourse. Her right hand was handcuffed to the bedpost. After he was finished he released her, and told her he loved her and wanted to marry her. She was still feeling groggy. During the next 24 hours, he sexually assaulted her five more times, each time handcuffing her first. She stated that he was very rough with her during sex. She was afraid to tell him 'no' or to try and stop him.

"That night he drove her to S Jackson St and dropped her off. Today she saw him again. He was wearing black sweats. He told her he would contact her later. She then walked to E Yesler Way and called the police.

"She was unable to tell me the location of the suspect's house. It was somewhere in the Rainier Valley. He left the area driving through several alleys and side streets. She described the house as possibly being abandoned. It was in a state of disrepair, with wires hanging from the ceiling and walls. There was no working plumbing or heat. There was, however, electricity, as he turned on the light in the bedroom at some point. She could not remember any other details about the location or the suspect, whose name was Paul.

"She was transported to HMC for a sexual assault exam."