Spokane ‘South Hill rapist’ leaves Auburn, goes to Federal Way

Registered sex offender Kevin Coe, also known as the “South Hill Rapist” for being a suspect in over 30 Spokane rapes in the late 1970s, is no longer living in Auburn and has moved to Federal Way.

On Oct. 22, Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus announced that through the efforts of the Auburn Police Department, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe of Indians, and community members, Coe was removed from his Auburn residence and is no longer living in Auburn. Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell announced at the Oct. 21 City Council meeting that Coe would be moving to Federal Way.

According to the Washington State Sex Offender Registry, Coe now resides in the 33700 block of 38th Place Southwest, which is 0.4 miles away from Brigadoon Elementary School. Ferrell said Coe’s court file said Coe is largely confined to a wheelchair, but Ferrell said he does not personally know what physical condition Coe is in.

“We do not have the authority to say no. I want you to know that, and I’m deeply troubled as I said by its proximity to a school,” Ferrell said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that this does not occur in the future.”

Ferrell said he spoke to the city’s attorney to explore an ordinance barring sex offenders from living near schools in Federal Way, but the city is legally prohibited from creating that ordinance. Ferrell said the laws regarding sex offenders are exclusively within the jurisdiction of the state. Councilmember Susan Honda said that the home Coe was living in was on Muckleshoot tribal property, which is why he is not in Auburn anymore.

Council President Linda Kochmar asked Ferrell why Coe is living in South King County, and he said it was because that is where Coe chose to live. Ferrell said Coe was released from McNeil Island unconditionally, so the state does not choose where he lives.

Ferrell said the city is working with the King County Sheriff’s Office to send notification to all neighbors within a quarter-mile radius of Coe’s address. The notification will include details about Coe, his current location and a current photo.

Coe was initially slated to move to Federal Way following his release from McNeil Island on Oct. 10, but he subsequently moved to Auburn instead. Ferrell said the first time he found out Coe would be moving to Federal Way, he found out through the media, and when Coe moved to Auburn, the city of Auburn learned he was moving to Auburn via the media as well. Ferrell said this most recent time, he also learned Coe was moving to Federal Way through the media.

The sex offender registry reports that Coe is a level three sex offender. Coe is 78 years old, 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds. He was convicted on Feb. 12, 1985, of first-degree rape.

Jeannie Ngo said her home is next door to Coe’s new home, and she was not made aware that he was moving in until another neighbor told her she found out through the media. Ngo said she and her husband have an infant, and alongside other families in the neighborhood, they created safety plans, but it’s still concerning that Coe moved in so close to the elementary and other families.

“Our neighbors and my family, we already have a safety plan. We feel pretty protected,” Ngo said. “And if he is in the state that they say he is in, we’re not too concerned, but you never know. So, we are taking extra precautions to protect our cul-de-sac.”

Ngo said her neighborhood started a petition to have Coe move out of his current home in the Brigadoon area. Ngo said they plan to take the petition to the mayor, but she knows that the city’s options legally are limited. Regardless, she said they are going to gather signatures and see what they can do next.

She said she understands that sometimes letting people know a sex offender is moving into the neighborhood is out of the city’s control, and officers told her she could sign up for sex offender alerts, but those alerts only get sent out once the offender moves in. Ngo said she wishes the neighborhood had a say in Coe moving in beforehand.

“We have an infant and the rest of the neighbors either have one kid, two kids or grandkids, and we are just a walk away from the park where a lot of kids play, and Brigadoon is right behind,” Ngo said. “So yeah, for my small family to be next door to them is pretty scary.”

Coe had been in the custody of state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) since 2008, when he was released from prison and civilly committed to the Special Commitment Center at McNeil Island for dangerous sex offenders. Now, after 17 years, Coe has been released to a home in Federal Way.

“The Spokane County Superior Court has granted Kevin Coe unconditional release, and we are legally bound to comply with the court’s order,” according to an Oct. 2 statement from DSHS.

According to the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), from 1978 to 1981, Coe is accused of committing as many as 37 assaults in the South Hill neighborhood of Spokane that terrified the city. According to the DPLA, in 1981, Kevin Coe was arrested in connection to several of the rapes, and was ultimately convicted of four counts of rape. He was given the nickname of the “South Hill rapist.”

In 1984, the Washington Supreme Court later overturned the convictions because police hypnotized some of the victims in hopes they would remember more details. However, according to the DPLA, Coe was later convicted of one count of rape, which resulted in a 25-year prison sentence.

After serving his prison sentence, in 2008, a civil jury declared Coe to be a sexually violent predator, and he was sent to a DSHS Special Commitment Center at McNeil Island for sex offenders.