Tempe man arrested for Halloween assault found with labeled underwear
Police identified the suspect through GPS data and a Wendy's cup, leading to a search that revealed a collection of women's undergarments in his Chandler home.
By Chioma Kuznetsov ·
Mach Kim, 46, was arrested in Scottsdale on Nov. 5 facing charges of aggravated assault, kidnapping, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. The charges stem from an attack that police say occurred in Tempe on Oct. 31. Court documents released this week detail the sequence of events and the methods investigators used to connect Kim to the crime.
According to the documents, the assault began around 2:30 a.m. near Eighth Street and Dorsey Lane. A woman walking home from a party was approached by a driver who pointed a black pistol at her and ordered her into his vehicle. Kim allegedly forced the victim to wear an eye mask before driving her to a second location where he sexually assaulted her. He made her surrender her underwear before dropping her off near McClintock and University drives.
The victim found a passerby who helped her call police. Officers recovered her phone and keys at the drop-off site. GPS data from the phone provided a route map that investigators used to identify the suspect vehicle. Police matched camera footage along that route to the timeline, locating a white Dodge Ram pickup registered to Kim. They also compared his driver's license photo to a sketch the victim helped create.
Detectives surveilled Kim before his arrest. On Nov. 5, they collected a DNA sample from a Wendy's cup he discarded. Laboratory analysis showed the DNA on the cup matched evidence collected from the victim during a sexual assault exam.
A search of Kim's car after his arrest yielded a black CO2 gun shaped like a handgun, a black sleep mask, a pillow, a towel, and six pairs of women's underwear. Officers later searched his residence in Chandler, where they found 13 additional pairs of women's underwear and an eye mask. Sticky notes with dates and names were attached to seven of the pairs in the home.
Kim invoked his right to remain silent during booking, requesting a lawyer before answering further questions. Detectives believe there may be other victims who have not yet come forward. Tempe police are asking potential victims or witnesses to call 480-350-8311.
