The case for a State College man charged with rape and attempted murder was dealt a blow Tuesday when a judge denied a motion to suppress evidence collected after what the defense called an "illegal arrest."

Michael A. Kuhn, 31, was arrested in August 2007 after police say a woman reported a man loitering outside her 612 Apple Alley apartment and staring in her window. Following that arrest, police charged Kuhn in connection with the rape of a Penn State graduate student.

The defense said the responding officer did not witness Kuhn committing a crime and did not have probable cause to arrest him.

Centre County Distrct Judge Thomas Kistler disagreed and ruled Tuesday the officer who responded to the loitering and prowling complaint did have probable cause in arresting Kuhn after spotting him in an adjacent apartment's bushes, according to court documents.

In the Nov. 14 motion, the defense said the "photo line-up was unduly suggestive" and police forcibly took DNA from Kuhn, according to court documents.

Judge Kistler wrote in his order that not only were the photo line-ups administered lawfully, but that Kuhn's saliva was given with his consent, according to court documents.

After the initial arrest, Kuhn was later identified by the woman as the man who was looking in her window, and was charged with loitering and prowling and disorderly conduct in connection with the incident, according to court documents.

As a result, police linked Kuhn to the rape of a Penn State graduate student earlier that summer. Police said Kuhn matched the description of a man who had entered the student's Pugh Street apartment on July 4, 2007, raped her multiple times and beat her with a blunt object before fleeing.

Kuhn was later charged in the incident.

Kuhn's pre-trial conference on charges of rape and attempted murder is scheduled for Jan. 22.

Defense Attorney Ed Blanarik and Assistant District Attorney Nathan Boob could not immediately be reached for comment.