SPOKANE, Wash. — The so-called South Hill Rapist was granted his release by a Spokane County judge on Thursday.
Last week, the state of Washington said it doesn’t have proof that Kevin Coe is a sexual predator any longer, and is not fighting his request to be released during a hearing set for Thursday morning.
Prior to Thursday’s release, Kevin Coe served four decades in prison and civil commitment. Though it’s not the first time he was set to walk free.
Coe was believed responsible for upwards of 40 sexual assaults between the late 70s and his arrest in 1981, but, ultimately, he only served time for one rape.
During his first trial, Coe was convicted on four counts of rape. Just three years later, the state supreme court overturned those convictions because some victims were hypnotized during the police investigation.
In the second trial in 1985, Coe was found guilty on three rape charges. Again, many of those were overturned on the hypnosis issue. Coe’s single rape conviction led to a 25-year prison sentence and in 2006, he was set to be released.
Instead, the state argued he was still a sexually violent predator. He was involuntarily committed to McNeil Island in 2008 after a jury agreed he was still a danger to the public.
But now, two separate psychology experts concluded that Coe, now 78 years old, is in failing health.
A Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) psychologist and another hired by the attorney general’s office say that due to Coe’s heart disease, limited mobility and ongoing mental health issues, he’s unlikely to reoffend.
While the attorney general’s office is not fighting his release, a spokesperson says Coe will be a registered sex offender for life and will likely go to an adult group home.
DSHS confirmed with KREM 2 on Thursday that Coe will be sent to live at the Win-Win Adult Family Home in Federal Way, WA.
Eastern Washington’s Congressman, Michael Baumgartner, also released the following statement in reaction to Coe’s ordered release:
“Kevin Coe should have been given life in prison or the death penalty for his heinous crimes on Spokane’s South Hill. It’s deeply disturbing for everyone in Spokane that he will be out on the street.”
트위터 공유: 40년 수감 끝 케빈 코 석방 논란