Man convicted of brutal assault and sexual assault of UW-Madison student

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – The man charged in the brutal attack on a UW-Madison student last year pleaded guilty Thursday in Dane County Court.

Brandon Thompson, 27, appeared for a new hearing Thursday. Thompson pleaded guilty to all three charges: first-degree sexual assault, first-degree reckless assault and strangulation and suffocation.

He previously pleaded not guilty to these charges.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 6, 2025.

The maximum possible sentence, if the sentences were imposed consecutively, would be over 90 years in prison.

The brutal and sexual assault on a woman occurred in the early morning of September 3, 2023, leaving her fighting for her life. In the criminal complaint filed against Thompson, a Madison Police Department sergeant who was one of the first officers on the scene of the downtown attack described the victim’s injuries as “one of the most horrific things I have ever seen.”

According to the complaint, Thompson denied remembering sexually abusing her. but admitted he could have done it. According to the prosecution, he continued: “The only thing I remember is that I hit.”

The complaint goes on to say that Thompson told investigators: “[s]He encountered a monster.”

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