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Man charged with attempted rape in boy's grocery store attack

KENT, Wash. — A man accused of attacking an 11-year-old boy in a grocery store restroom in Burien was charged with second-degree attempted rape and possession of methamphetamine.

According to probable cause documents, 32-year-old Andrew William Dempsey was in the bathroom at the Albertson's grocery store at South 128th Street and First Avenue South Saturday with his pants down around his ankles when he grabbed the boy, threatened to kill him, tried to drag him into a stall and shut his fingers in a door.

Court documents said Dempsey bit the arm of a store employee who was trying to restrain him when employees heard the boy’s screams.

Police said Dempsey was carrying a bag containing methamphetamine that fell on the floor during the struggle.

Employees were able to hold down Dempsey until officers arrived. Documents said Dempsey denied the attack.

The boy suffered scratches and a swollen finger.

Dempsey, a 32-year-old homeless man from Kent, remains in jail at the Kent Regional Justice Center on $1 million bail.