Kevin Coe, the man known as Spokane’s “South Hill Rapist,” is expected to be released from state custody after more than four decades behind bars and in civil commitment.

The defense and the Washington Office of the Attorney General (AGO) scheduled an unconditional release hearing for Coe on Oct. 2.

Coe, 78, was arrested in 1981 and initially convicted on four counts of first-degree rape. Those convictions were partially overturned due to the use of hypnosis on victims, which raised concerns about the reliability of their testimony. A second trial in 1985 resulted in three convictions, but two were later overturned by the state Supreme Court, leaving only one conviction intact.

Coe is still linked to at least 43 rapes in the Spokane area between 1978 and 1981. In 2006, the state filed a

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