The Spokesman-Review recently reported that all four members of Polish death metal band Decapitated were formally charged recently with rape in Spokane County. The four had already been charged with kidnapping in the first degree. The rape charges vary between the four, from second degree for Rafal Piotrowski and Waclaw Kieltika, to third degree for Mikola LLysejko and Hubert Wiecek. 

In a follow-up report, The Spokesman-Review report that, with the aid of a Polish translator, Judge John Cooney communicated the charges of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree rape to Piotrowski and first-degree kidnapping and third-degree rape to Wiecek. Waclaw Kieltyka and Michal Lysejko, the band’s bassist and drummer, had their first court appearance in Spokane on Oct. 13. Kieltyka was charged with first-degree kidnapping and second-degree rape and Lysejko was charged with first-degree kidnapping and third-degree rape.

All four men had their bonds set at $100,000. They also aren’t allowed to talk to each other while incarcerated and were forced to surrender their passports to their attorneys.

Attorney Jeffry Finer, who represents Piotrowski, said the men will be pursuing bail, but are waiting on documents from Poland to “impress the court,” which could take over a week.

“Among this group, there are a number of advanced degrees and zero criminal history,” Finer said.

Read the complete report here.

The members of Decapitated were arrested September 9th in Santa Ana, California, on suspicion of first-degree kidnapping stemming from an August 31st incident in downtown Spokane. A woman told police that she had been raped by all four members of the band after she was invited onto their tour bus following one of their shows.

The band has issued the following statement regarding the charges:

"We'd like to emphasize; the Spokane Police Department has pressed charges as procedural formality, without doing so, they would be forced to release band. This is not a conviction or any indication of guilt or innocence.

Once again, we ask that everyone wait for each party's case to be presented and await the court's decision. With that said, whilst cases are being prepared on both sides, some facts are indisputable at this point — that the original officer who took the complaint from the accuser stated, 'I do not have probable cause that a rape occurred,' and it's taken a full thirty days to file charges, which is right up against the point at which the defendants would legally have had to be released.

The band firmly refutes the allegations and are confident that once the facts and evidence have been seen and heard, they will be released and able to return home. Individuals who were present on the night in question with information about the case are asked to reach out to the defense lawyer, Steve Graham of Spokane, Washington."

Stay tuned for updates.