TACOMA— A federal judge in Tacoma has ruled that convicted rapist Kevin Coe of Spokane is not entitled to a new trial.
The decision means that Coe— who was dubbed the South Hill Rapist in the 1980s— will remain confined at the state’s Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.
Coe was convicted of rape in 1985 in Spokane County. He was due to be released from prison in 2006 when the state Attorney General’s Office stepped in and obtained a jury verdict labeling Coe a sexually violent predator and a danger to the community. He has been confined since.
The Attorney General’s Office says it linked Coe to 36 sex offenses which had never gone to trial.
Coe last year asked for a new trial. Late last week, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan denied Coe’s petition.
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