Tag Archives: South Hill Rapist

Schoesler introduces bipartisan bill making it harder to release serial rapists

Two months after the state’s controversial release of the late Kevin Coe, the “South Hill Rapist” who terrorized Spokane before his arrest and conviction in the early 1980s, state Sen. Mark Schoesler has filed a bipartisan bill that would make it harder to release serial rapists.

“Kevin Coe was one of the most dangerous and infamous criminals in our state’s history,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. His bill was “prefiled” and will be formally introduced when the 2026 legislative session convenes Jan. 12.

Coe was suspected of violently raping as many as 40 women and girls as young as 14 before being arrested in 1981 and ultimately found guilty of first-degree rape.

“It’s still shocking and unbelievable that the state released him this year,” said Schoesler, who was a college student in Spokane in the late 1970s when Coe was suspected of having committed his rapes. “During his years in confinement, Kevin Coe refused treatment and he never apologized or showed remorse. He should not have been released by the state.”

In early October, the state Department of Social and Health Services released Coe from the Special Commitment Center, on McNeil Island in Puget Sound. Schoesler opposed the move and vowed to introduce legislation in response.

After his release from the SCC, Coe briefly lived in adult-family homes in Federal Way, Auburn and Federal Way again before he died on Dec. 3.

“I hope the Legislature will make it a priority next session to pass this bipartisan bill to prevent or at least make it harder for DSHS or other state agencies to release people guilty of such heinous crimes. We need to place the public’s safety above the freedom of a serial rapist who was unrepentant to the end. After news spread of Coe’s release, several of his victims approached me and told me how angry they were about it,” said Schoesler.

Under the proposal, if a convicted rapist who is confined in the SCC is seeking release from confinement and the state produces sufficient evidence proving the convict refused to participate in sex-offender treatment while in total confinement and has not expressed remorse for the sex offenses of which they were convicted, a release to a less-restrictive alternative placement may not be ordered for the convict.

The proposal has 16 co-sponsors. The leading co-sponsor is Sen. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane.

Coe was arrested in March 1981. A jury convicted him later that year on four counts of first-degree rape, resulting in a sentence of life plus 75 years in prison.

In 1984, the state Supreme Court overturned Coe’s four rape convictions partly because three of the four rape victims were hypnotized before identifying Coe as the rapist. In 1985, a second trial was held, this time in Seattle. That jury found Coe guilty of three counts of first-degree rape. In 1988, the state Supreme Court overturned two of the convictions and upheld the third.

In 2006, state Attorney General Rob McKenna filed a petition to have Coe committed as a sexual predator, blocking his scheduled release that year from the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Two years later a Spokane County jury declared Coe to be a sexually violent predator. This designation gave the state the right to hold Coe indefinitely at the SCC.

The 2026 legislative session is scheduled to last 60 days.

Schoesler represents the 9th Legislative District, which covers all or part of Adams, Asotin, Garfield, Lincoln, Spokane and Whitman counties.

Schoesler opposes possible release of Kevin Coe, Spokane’s ‘South Hill Rapist’

State Sen. Mark Schoesler says he is outraged that the state might release Kevin Coe, the “South Hill Rapist” who terrorized Spokane before his arrest and conviction in the early 1980s.

“Kevin Coe is one of the most dangerous and infamous criminals in our state’s history,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “He was suspected of raping many women and girls as young as 14 before being arrested in 1981 and ultimately found guilty of first-degree rape. It’s unbelievable that the state would even consider releasing him.

“The Legislature needs to act next session to prevent or at least make it harder for DSHS or other agencies to release people guilty of such heinous crimes. We need to place the public’s safety above the freedom of a serial rapist who is unrepentant to this day,” added Schoesler, who said he would introduce or co-sponsor such legislation.

Last week Schoesler and several other legislators received an email from a Department of Social and Health Services official about Coe’s possible release. Part of the email reads:

The Department of Social and Health Services would like to make you aware that a high-profile resident of the Special Commitment Center (SCC), Kevin Coe, is scheduled for an Unconditional Release hearing on October 2, 2025.

The SCC forensic evaluator as well as the State’s expert concluded to a reasonable degree of psychological certainty that Mr. Coe no longer meets civil commitment criteria as a sexually violent predator. The parties are in agreement that the case should be dismissed, so it is highly likely that it will be. Upon an order for unconditional release, Mr. Coe will be released as soon as within 24 hours and will be going to a licensed adult family home in the 30th Legislative District. 

Mr. Coe was a Spokane County resident, as were many of the individuals he victimized. Law enforcement was notified yesterday, and enrollees of the department’s Victim/Witness Notification Program will receive notice of the anticipated release tomorrow. In the past, Mr. Coe received media attention throughout the country and we anticipate that his release may prompt additional attention.

Coe was arrested in March 1981. A jury convicted Coe later that year on four counts of first-degree rape. Coe was sentenced to life plus 75 years in prison. In 1984, the state Supreme Court overturned Coe’s four rape convictions partly because three of the four rape victims were hypnotized before identifying Coe as the rapist. In 1985, a second trial was held, this time in Seattle. The jury in the second trial found Coe guilty of three counts of first-degree rape. In 1988, the state Supreme Court overturned two of the convictions and upheld the third.

In 2006, state Attorney General Rob McKenna filed a petition to have Coe committed as a sexual predator, blocking his scheduled release that year from the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Two years later a Spokane County jury declared Coe to be a sexually violent predator. This designation gives the state the right to hold Coe indefinitely at the Special Commitment Center, on McNeil Island in Puget Sound.

Schoesler noted that since regaining control of both the House and Senate in 2018, Democrats have passed numerous crime-friendly bills, including the “Blake bill” in 2021 that basically decriminalized many drugs (Senate Bill 5476), an expansion of eligibility for early release from corrections centers (SB 5121, passed in 2021), and similar changes related to partial confinement programs that allow inmates to be released sooner (SB 5219, passed this year).

Schoesler represents the 9th Legislative District, which covers all or part of Adams, Asotin, Garfield, Lincoln, Spokane and Whitman counties.