The man known as the “South Hill rapist,” who stoked fear throughout Spokane starting in the late 1970s, is set to be released from his civil commitment at McNeil Island.

Authorities believe Fred “Kevin” Coe is responsible for the rapes of 30 to 40 people in Spokane between 1978 and 1981, according to court documents and previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review.

Coe was found guilty in 1985 of three counts of first-degree rape, but the state Supreme Court subsequently overturned two of the convictions, saying the victims had been hypnotized by police before identifying Coe as the suspect.

After serving a 25-year sentence on the remaining rape conviction at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary, Coe has spent the past 19 years on McNeil Island after former Attorney General Rob McKenna p

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