Prosecutors: Sleeping West Seattle man woke to find woman raping him

A 28-year-old woman accused of breaking into a West Seattle man’s home and forcing herself on him as he slept has been charged with rape.

Filing the charge earlier in September, King County prosecutors claim Chantae Gilman sexually assaulted her neighbor during a night break-in more than a year ago. Police claim a recently completed DNA test tied Gilman to the rape.

The man told police he’d gone to sleep following a party only to wake to find Gilman on top, pinning him down as she had sex with him, a Seattle Police Department detective said in charging papers. The man didn’t know the woman but recognized her as a “drug user in the area,” the detective continued.

The man demanded Gilman get off of him, but she refused and told him to be quiet, the detective said. According to charging papers, he was able to work his way out from under the 240-pound woman and push her out of the apartment.

Staff at Harborview Medical Center performed a sexual assault examination on the man later in the day. DNA collected then is said to match Gilman.

Interviewed by police, Gilman said she didn’t remember having sex with the man or being in his home. She described herself as mentally ill.

Gilman was charged Monday with second-degree rape. A warrant for her arrest has been issued.

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Seattlepi.com reporter Levi Pulkkinen can be reached at 206-448-8348 or [e-mail]. Follow Levi on Twitter at twitter.com/levipulk.