Viral TikTok warns women of convicted rapist released in Seattle
Viral TikTok spotlights released Seattle inmate
A TikTok video warning about a recently released convicted rapist in Seattle has gone viral, amassing over 10,000 shares in just a few days and igniting a conversation about public safety, rehabilitation, and online accountability.
COVINGTON, Wash. - A TikTok video warning about a recently released convicted rapist in Seattle has gone viral, amassing over 10,000 shares in just a few days and igniting a conversation about public safety, rehabilitation, and online accountability.
The subject of the video is Phillip Baldwin, 34, who was allegedly released from prison on May 12 after serving 16 years for two separate rape convictions. The video, posted by a Texas-based TikToker named Ashley, highlights Baldwin’s profile on the inmate pen-pal website WriteAPrisoner.com, where he claimed to have changed and was seeking to connect with others after release.
Why you should care:
Ashley told FOX 13 Seattle she started sharing videos like this on TikTok to expose the disconnect between the curated image inmates can present online and the often-omitted details of their criminal past.
The backstory:
Court records obtained by FOX 13 confirm that Baldwin was convicted in a case where he posed as a high school student working on a senior project to gain entry into a woman’s home. Once inside, he threatened her children — including a weeks-old infant — and forced her to perform oral sex.
The King County Prosecutor’s Office said Baldwin is also linked to another rape case in 2010, where he allegedly attacked a woman in the woods outside an LA Fitness in Covington. In that case, he reportedly took her money after the assault. FOX 13 Seattle archives confirm a report on the Covington attack aired over a decade ago.
Baldwin is also suspected in a third rape case in Seattle.
Ashley, who said she has also been incarcerated in the past, believes in the possibility of rehabilitation — but not without accountability.
"I also have seen people in there that have portrayed themselves as changing and have not, really," said Ashley.
The Source:
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