(The Center Square) – After more community pushback, Kevin Coe, the notorious “South Hill Rapist” who terrorized Spokane, Wash., in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is being relocated back to Federal Way, the city where he was originally scheduled to live upon his release earlier this month.
“We are disappointed to hear the news that Kevin Coe is moving to Federal Way and want to acknowledge community concerns regarding that move,” Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell emailed The Center Square. “We do not have a say in this matter, and we certainly understand the concerns surrounding it.”
Coe was initially going to move into a group home just off South 288th in Federal Way, but community concerns nixed that plan.
He instead moved into a group home in Auburn near Muckleshoot Casino, much to the shock and surprise of Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus and city police who were not notified ahead of time.
In a Tuesday morning post on Facebook, Backus said Coe would be moving out of the city.
“Through the quick, coordinated work of the Auburn Police Department, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe of Indians, and engaged members of our community, Mr. Coe has since been removed from his Auburn residence and is no longer living in our city,” Backus wrote. “Their diligence and rapid action ensured that Auburn did not bear the burden of a decision on which we were never consulted.”
Coe’s new address is located at a group home near Brigadoon Elementary School in southwest Federal Way. The home appeared empty Tuesday afternoon and a couple who own the home next door told The Center Square they were very concerned.
“It makes me feel unsafe and just, I mean, it affects us, right?” said neighbor Linda Wilson. “Because we have grandkids, it’s just kind of an uncomfortable situation.”
Wilson and her husband have lived in their home for 35 years and said there have been sketchy situations over the years with the group home and residents, adding that the property has been vacant for some time, although they have seen people come and go, mostly during evening hours.
“We knew the lady that lived there before and she had a family home here, like a group home. And then she moved to Olympia and started another one there and so it sat empty for the longest time,” Wilson said, noting concerns about nearby Brigadoon Elementary, located a little more than 200 feet from the home where Coe will reside.
As he was released unconditionally, despite the fact he is a Level 3 sex offender, there are no restrictions about proximity to schools, daycares or playgrounds.
No one answered a knock on the door Tuesday and uncovered windows to the front room and bedrooms suggested no one was there.
“I am personally deeply troubled that current state law permits a Level 3 sex offender to reside in close proximity to an elementary school. I strongly urge our State Legislature to re-examine these laws and consider whether it is in the public’s best interest to allow such individuals to live near any school,” Ferrell said. “Because Mr. Coe was classified as a Level 3 sex offender, we are working with the King County Sherriff’s Office to send notification to all neighbors within a quarter mile radius of his listed address. The notification will include details about Mr. Coe, his current location, and a current photo.”
As previously reported by The Center Square, Coe is believed to have committed around 40 rapes and sexual assaults in the Spokane area in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Two psychology experts concluded that he is no longer a danger to the community because he is elderly and in failing health. A Spokane judge granted his release a few weeks ago, despite pleas from victims and family members to keep him locked up.
