SPOKANE — Jury selection began Monday in the civil commitment trial of Kevin Coe, who the state is attempting to keep in prison even though he has completed a 25-year prison sentence for rape.
More than 600 potential jurors were called for what is expected to be a long and sensational trial. That will be whittled down to a dozen people who will decide if Coe suffers from mental defects that prevent him from controlling his sexual desires.
Authorities believe Coe is the so-called South Hill Rapist, who is suspected of more than 40 rapes that terrorized the Spokane area in the late 1970s and early 1980s. But Coe maintains he is innocent.
He served time in prison for the only rape that stood up under appeals.
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