Rape suspect a convicted sex offender

A 54-year-old man accused of raping a woman in the parking lot of Von Tobel Middle School last week has been identified as a convicted sex offender from Arizona who moved to town without registering with Las Vegas authorities.

An investigation by Clark County School District Police determined that Steven Knight had been living at a home in the 1800 block of Jansen Avenue in eastern Las Vegas and, at the time of his arrest Friday, had failed to register within the state's 48-hour time limit.

Knight is currently awaiting his day in court to answer to charges stemming from the incident early Thursday. He has been accused of committing sexual assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping with intent to commit a felony, failure to register as a sex offender, possessing fictitious license plates and possessing stolen property.

The victim, identified as being in her late 20s, told authorities that she met her attacker in a bar and later left with him, getting into his car, which he eventually parked about 4:30 a.m. in the school's lot at 2435 N. Pecos Road, near Carey Avenue.

The man got out of the car, telling the woman he had to urinate, then returned and sexually assaulted her at knife point, said Mary Stanley-Larsen, school district spokeswoman.

The woman eventually got away from the man after the attack and hailed down a passing motorist who helped her get to safety.

She was able to provide descriptions of the rapist, his car and the license plate number to school police who headed the investigation based upon the location where the crime was committed.

Investigators took Knight into custody about 8:30 a.m. Friday in the 4300 block of East Bonanza Road, police said.

Arizona authorities confirmed that Knight is a known sex offender but declined to release any information about his criminal record.

School police were unable to comment on how long Knight had been in Las Vegas.

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