Suspect in Columbus State parking garage incident was released from jail hours before attack, police say

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — After last week’s alleged rape and sexual assault of a Columbus State University student downtown, university and city officials are working together to address crime issues.

More information about the alleged suspect has been revealed.

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Police say the crime happened in broad daylight in a city-owned parking deck that’s leased by the university.

Hosni Batebawia, 20, is charged with the rape. He had been in the Muscogee County Jail for nearly a year before his release on probation just hours before the alleged assault.

Batebawia was convicted in 2024 of multiple charges, including terroristic threats and public indecency, in an incident at a Columbus Walmart.

Columbus Police Chief Stoney Mathis confirmed his officers quickly took Batebawia into custody.

“I’m not going to go into the investigation — it’s really not our investigation. But I can tell you that within a short amount of time after the incident, we did take him into custody, and we did find that he had gotten out of jail within the last 24 hours,” Mathis said.

New CSU Police Chief Deborah Kennedy, formerly an assistant chief with Columbus police, has been leading discussions this week.

“Law enforcement agencies working together, a coordinated effort, I think that we are doing our part,” Kennedy said. “I think that we really have to look at the criminal justice system itself and look at how people like this suspect are out on our streets. I think that’s where the focus needs to be.”

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The incident and its aftermath have led to additional security in downtown Columbus and on CSU’s RiverPark campus.

Multiple agencies are working together on the effort.

Steve Morse, president and CEO of Uptown Columbus Inc., said officials are already discussing next steps.

“It’s very concerning. And that’s the conversations that our chiefs and our sheriff are having now. What are those next steps that we take as a collective group to ensure that we are being as proactive as we can for incidents that may arise?” Morse said.

The university has been dealing with heightened safety concerns since the August murder of an 18-year-old woman in a downtown shooting on Bay Avenue. Kennedy acknowledged that parents and students are worried.

“Specifically in the RiverPark campus, which is in downtown Columbus, there’s concerns from parents walking to and from class, from residence halls to class and back again. And then crime in Columbus overall is a concern,” she said.

Downtown Columbus is patrolled by multiple agencies, which officials say helps solve crimes quickly.

Police said the suspect was in custody minutes after allegedly stealing the victim’s car.

“The only time the jurisdiction comes into play is if a crime occurs. We’re all overlapping each other as far as crime prevention or officer presence,” Mathis said. “We’re all overlapping each other.”

Kennedy, who previously spent more than five years as a sex crimes investigator with Columbus police, said that experience has shaped the way she and her department are handling this case.

Batebawia is scheduled to appear in Columbus Recorder’s Court at 8 a.m. Tuesday.