Federal judge: 'South Hill rapist' will not get new trial
TACOMA -- A federal judge denied a convicted rapist's request for a new trial.
According to the Washington State Office of Attorney General, Coe will remain at the state's Special Commitment Center of McNeil Island.
Coe was convicted of rape in the Spokane area in 1985.
Coe was going to be released in 2006 until the Attorney General's office obtained a jury verdict labeling him as a sexually violent predator. At that point, the state confined Coe in the Special Commitment Center.
Officials said Coe has been linked to 36 sex offenses including 18 rapes which had never gone to trial.
Here's a statement from the Attorney General's office:
Under Washington’s civil commitment law, prosecutors had to demonstrate Coe suffers from specific mental abnormalities and/or personality disorders that cause him to have serious difficulty in controlling his dangerous behavior and make him likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence unless confined to a secure facility.
Last year, Coe asked for a new trial. The Attorney General’s Office opposed Coe’s request, which had already been denied by the state courts. Late last week, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Bryan denied Coe’s petition, ruling that Coe’s conviction and sentence were legally proper. Coe will remain confined to McNeil Island.