Man arrested for alleged rape near Whatcom Falls Park

Bellingham Police arrested a 30-year-old man Tuesday morning on suspicion of second-degree rape of a woman he knew from an incident that occurred near Whatcom Falls Park in September.

Ralph Dasheir Arnold remains in Whatcom County Jail Wednesday.

According to Lt. Danette Beckley, an adult female victim came forward Sept. 3 to report that an acquaintance asked her to hang out on Sept. 1, and she agreed.

Arnold and the victim walked for a bit, but the victim needed to sit down due to an injury, according to the report.

They sat in a car, and in the 2000 block of St. Clair Street, Arnold allegedly reclined the seat the victim was sitting in, got on top of her, pinned her down and started grabbing at her belt in an attempt to take it off. The victim fought and screamed, Beckley said, but was physically limited due to her back injury.

Arnold then reportedly pulled the victim’s hair, breaking some of it off, and bit her on the neck. Beckley said the victim’s bruising was consistent with what she described, and police were able to gather video surveillance and other evidence during the investigation.