EBRSO: Rape suspect booked in 2000 rape
A Baker man accused of kidnapping a woman in Baton Rouge and raping her in Iberville Parish on July 27 was booked Monday night in the rape of a child in 2000, authorities said.
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office detectives linked Michael Rushing, 48, 14185 Brown Road, Baker, to the 2000 case via a DNA match, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks said in a news release.
He was booked into Parish Prison on counts of second-degree kidnapping and forcible rape, Hicks said.
Detectives said they believe Rushing picked up a 14-year-old girl on June 16, 2000, while she was walking in her neighborhood at 10 p.m., Hicks said.
Rushing forced the girl into a truck and blindfolded her, then took her to a residence where he raped her, Hicks said. Rushing then dropped the girl off back in her neighborhood, Hicks said.
Baton Rouge police arrested Rushing in the more recent case about 24 hours after he allegedly followed his 22-year-old victim from a Denham Springs gas station to the Bone and Joint Clinic’s parking area on Hennessy Boulevard near Essen Lane, police have said.
Rushing ordered the woman into his truck and drove her to a wooded area near the Mississippi River in Sunshine, which is in Iberville Parish, according to a warrant for Rushing’s arrest in the Essen Lane case.
Rushing kept the woman there for several hours while talking to her about his life troubles, the warrant says.
Rushing then raped the woman, the warrant says.
After a few minutes, Rushing stopped and apologized to the woman, and let her put her clothes back on, the warrant says. He dropped her off at a McDonald’s restaurant on 4215 Nicholson Drive, police have said.
Police later arrested Rushing after developing him as a suspect through a Crime Stoppers tip and information the victim said Rushing told her, police have said.
Rushing was booked into Parish Prison on counts of aggravated rape and second-degree kidnapping in the Essen Lane case.