Coe must undergo tests

South Hill rapist Kevin Coe will be shown explicit videos depicting violent rape and consensual sex so that a psychologist can measure his arousal levels to both, a judge ruled late Friday.

The test, called a penile plethysmograph, is one of three evaluations requested by prosecutors and ordered by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor.

She also ruled that Coe must submit to a clinical interview with a psychologist and undergo a polygraph test with questions about his sexual history.

“I think a fair reading of that statute would indicate that there is something more that should be done in the evaluation process,” O’Connor said. “In order to provide adequate treatment, it’s critical that as much information be known about the individual, in this case Mr. Coe, as possible.”

Dr. Amy Phenix, a forensic and clinical psychologist, previously testified that she believes Coe was responsible for 53 sexual attacks. Spokane police linked Coe to 43 rapes between 1978 and 1981, and he was convicted in four cases.

However, because investigators used hypnosis to interview witnesses and victims, appellate judges threw out all but one of the rape convictions.

Coe is expected to be asked about many of the rapes he was not charged with during his sexual history polygraph. However, like all other polygraph tests, it will not be admissible at trial, Assistant Attorney General Todd Bowers said.

Yet, the examination could provide helpful information for the state’s expert witness to determine whether Coe fits the legal definition of a sexually violent predator, Bowers said.

“Dr. Phenix is a very qualified expert. All we are asking … is that she be allowed to conduct the evaluation as she sees fit. I don’t think the judge went out on a limb.”

Defense attorney Tim Trageser indicated that he would advise Coe not to answer any questions about any rapes for which he wasn’t charged.

“I have no idea what questions (Phenix) wants to ask Mr. Coe. But Mr. Coe’s position has been consistent that he hasn’t been involved in any of the alleged activity so that would be his answer,” Trageser said.

John Rodgers, who is representing Coe along with Trageser and Marla Polin, argued against further testing because Phenix has already reviewed more than 66,000 pages of police reports, prison records and prior psychological evaluations.

Phenix “has opined unshakably that to a psychological certainty Mr. Coe presently fits the definition of a sexually violent predator and needs to be locked up until further treatment,” Rodgers said. “To essentially go full bore, overboard with a plethysmograph – which essentially is an unstructured, medieval tool – is more than necessary in this case.”

Bowers countered that the penile plethysmograph, which often is used to test whether sex offenders are getting help from treatment, is anything but a crude instrument.

“I think it’s the opposite. It’s at the forefront of the technology as far as possibly telling us whether or not someone is still experiencing deviant thoughts or is still aroused by deviant things,” Bowers said. “It may come back as a flat line. So it’s not a silver bullet.”

Even if the testing shows that Coe is aroused by sexual deviancy, it would not be enough to convict him at the civil trial scheduled in June. “It’s just another piece of information,” Bowers said.

Trageser said the penile plethysmograph may end up hurting the state’s case if it shows Coe is aroused by consensual sex and not rape.

“What is really kind of tricky is that … many men are aroused by different types of porn,” Trageser said. “Whether or not somebody is aroused by that doesn’t necessarily mean they will act out on that.”

While attorneys argued over the types of testing, they postponed arguments until Feb. 15 about newly discovered vaginal slides, which prosecutors have alleged in court documents link Coe through DNA evidence to the one rape for which he was convicted and spent the past 25 years in prison.

Trageser has said he has serious questions about whether prosecutors can show if those vaginal slides were properly taken or stored in the evidence lockup at the Spokane Police Department.

The attorneys will use the February hearing to continue to shape the evidence that will be used in the state’s effort to civilly commit Coe as a sexually violent predator. A jury must decide at trial, currently scheduled for July 16, whether Coe suffers from mental abnormalities or personality disorders that predispose him to commit future sexual assaults.

If convicted, Coe must remain at a facility on McNeil Island until his underlying condition changes enough to allow his safe release. If the jury finds for Coe, the state must immediately release him.

Trageser said the defense team has hired its own expert to counter the previous testimony by Phenix.

“We are expecting his opinion to be that Mr. Coe does not fit the definition of a sexually violent predator,” Trageser said. “A good portion of this trial will come down to what one expert says versus what another expert says.”