Hawkins pleads guilty

Kootenai County prosecutors reached a plea deal today with serial rapist Paul E. Hawkins.

Sniffling and with tears rolling down his face, Hawkins, 34, pleaded guilty to the 2003 home-invasion rapes of three women, the attempted rape of another and felony charges of burglary, attempted robbery, aggravated battery, penetration with a foreign object and infamous crimes against nature.

Hawkins pleaded guilty to 10 felony charges, including two burglaries for which he hadn’t been charged previously. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed 14 charges against him.

“Sometimes our best results are achieved without a trial,” Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas said. “Hopefully this will bring some closure to the victims, who won’t have to endure a two-week-long trial during the holidays.”

Hawkins, a father of four, was initially charged with the 2003 rape and attempted rape of six women in Post Falls, Coeur d’Alene, Rathdrum and Spirit Lake.

During Thursday’s hearing, 1st District Judge John P. Luster offered Hawkins another 48 hours to consider the plea deal, but Hawkins declined. “I’m ready,” he said.

Luster read the charges one by one, and Hawkins replied to each in a faltering voice: “Guilty,” he said over and over.

After reading the first five charges – rape, attempted robbery, penetration with a foreign object, aggravated battery and another rape – Luster paused to offer Hawkins a glass of water. The defendant refused.

“Count Six is also an allegation of rape, sir,” Luster said.

“Guilty,” Hawkins said, repeating the plea for the crimes of attempted rape, infamous crime against nature and two counts of burglary. Then he wiped tears from his face with his shackled hands.

Prosecutors said Hawkins victimized 10 women. He was arrested in Coeur d’Alene in June after police received a tip from a confidential informant.

Deputy Prosecutor Blake Swenson said the plea deal was a “victory for the victims” in the case, who won’t have to take the stand against Hawkins.

In a press conference announcing Hawkins’ arrest in June, Coeur d’Alene police Chief Wendy Carpenter said it was “a great day for the citizens of Coeur d’Alene and the surrounding area to have this man behind bars.”

The violent rapes struck fear in women in the community. Descriptions of the attacker were inconsistent, and victims and police couldn’t provide a description of the rapist’s vehicle.

Some believed elderly women or women who lived alone were targeted.

Coeur d’Alene police Sgt. Christie Wood recalled receiving a call at the time from a frightened woman who lived alone. She said she was so afraid she had been sleeping on her couch with a butcher knife.

Detectives used DNA evidence to link the rape cases to Hawkins, who lived within a mile of each victim at the time of the attacks.

Court records show he lived in Coeur d’Alene, Hauser Lake, Spirit Lake, Hayden and Spokane from the time the crimes were committed until the day he was arrested.

Each rape charge alone is punishable with a maximum of life in prison. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors are recommending the sentences run concurrently. That’s only a recommendation, the judge reminded Hawkins.

“I could stack the time on top of one another if I felt it was appropriate to do so,” Luster said.

Douglas wouldn’t comment on the sentence his office will recommend, but he said it will be for a “very significant number of years.”

Sentencing is set for 3 p.m. April 10.