Series of downtown Seattle assaults linked to suspect who fled scenes on rented bikes, police arrested the suspect

Seattle, Washington – A 24-year-old man is facing a criminal charge in Seattle after authorities say he frequently targeted women in downtown neighborhoods. He would ride a rented Lime bike up to them, attack them, and then quickly ride away. The case is based on a series of events that happened last spring, when women said they were slapped, grabbed, or touched by a stranger who then rode away on a shared bike or scooter.

According to KUOW, the Seattle City Attorney has charged the man with fourth-degree assault with a special allegation of sexual motivation, which is a gross misdemeanor in Washington State. Investigators say the attacks happened between April and June 2025 and happened in the same way every time. In each case, the offender is reported to have ridden a Lime bike, approached a woman from behind, touched her butt, and then sped away, making identification difficult.

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Police say that reports of the incidents came in from many parts of downtown, including as Belltown and Pioneer Square. Detectives said that the activity was not just one-time events, but a clear and repetitive pattern. They said that the reports had comparable times, places, and dubious behavior.

In the end, one event helped move the investigation along. In that case, a woman told the police that someone attacked her outside her house. Her spouse was able to take pictures and videos of a man on a bike departing the area. Later, the woman made posters with the pictures and gave them out in her area and on social media. Court papers show that such approach led more women to come forward and allege they had been attacked in almost the same way by the same suspect.

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Seattle police found at least 17 additional incidents that were similar and followed the same pattern when they looked over incoming complaints. Ten of those occurrences were later confirmed, with exact dates and places. Some victims also reported what happened directly to Lime, the bike and scooter rental company involved in the case.

Lime suspended the suspect’s account on June 17, 2025, based on those reports. The cops got a search warrant the next month to look for more information. In response, Lime gave records that showed nine times when the suspect’s GPS ride data matched the time and place of the reported assaults. A company spokeswoman later said that Lime followed the warrant as required by its terms of service and agreements with the city.

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Harrison Cole Fredrick Brown, who lives in Lakewood, was the owner of the account, according to the police. On December 19, 2025, prosecutors officially charged Brown. He responded to a court summons, was arraigned on January 7, and entered a plea of not guilty.

Brown has now been freed on $2,000 bail. Court conditions require him to wear electronic home monitoring equipment and prohibit him from using any for-hire bike or scooter services while the case is pending.

The King County Department of Public Defense, which represents Brown, declined to comment, citing the ongoing nature of the case. The Seattle City Attorney’s Office also declined to comment beyond the information contained in public filings.

The Seattle police say they don’t know of any other events related to this case at this time. However, officials are urging anyone who thinks they were attacked in a similar way to tell the police, stressing that quick reports might assist find patterns and help with investigations.