In brief: Jury instructions agreed on for Coe

Attorneys agreed Wednesday on what a jury will hear about Kevin Coe’s refusal to be tested for his arousal levels to images of forced sex.

Superior Court Judge Kathleen O’Connor will tell the jury that she ordered Coe to submit to a penile plethysmograph test but that he refused with “no lawful justification.”

“The jury may infer from Mr. Coe’s refusal that he is deviantly aroused by forcible, non-consensual sexual contact with adult women,” O’Conner’s statement will conclude.

Spokane police linked Coe to 43 sexual assaults between 1978 and 1981.

He was convicted of four rapes, but appellate judges threw out three convictions, leaving him with a 25-year prison sentence which expired last September.

He is being held pending a civil trial in March, in which the state will try to convince a jury that he is a sexually violent predator, likely to re-offend.

– Thomas Clouse

Day care workers accused of theft

Five women who worked in a day care in Mattawa, Wash., were indicted Wednesday in Spokane on charges of theft of public funds and tampering with a federal witness.

Indicted were former day care worker Soledad Ramirez, 71, and current employees Silvia Farias, 36; Maria Puentes, 39; Maria Ruiz, 42, and Maria De La O, 35..

The indictment alleges that they stole public funds through fraudulent billing for day care services between 2002 and 2006, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rice said.

The women are also accused of conspiring in 2006 to cover up their crimes by attempting to influence the testimony and statements a witness gave to federal agents and a federal grand jury, Rice said.

– Bill Morlin

Not guilty plea in solicitation case

A retired teacher pleaded not guilty Wednesday to allegations that he solicited sex with a 4-year-old and an infant.

Gordon L. Erickson, 78, was given a trial date of Nov. 19. He is charged with two counts of attempted rape.

According to court records, an anonymous informant told police that Erickson wanted to find young girls for sex.

Police said an undercover officer agreed over the phone to meet Erickson so he could perform oral sex on the fictional girl and infant.

Erickson arrived at the designated location with popcorn and candy and $100 for each child, police said.

Erickson retired from Spokane Public Schools in 1982. He had taught at Grant Elementary, Glover Middle and Ferris High schools but spent the last 14 years of his career in the district’s central office, retiring as a testing coordinator.

– Thomas Clouse