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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Colville officer pleads guilty to sex crimes

Rex Newport faces 29 months in jail

A Colville police officer who had sex while on duty with women driving home from bars pleaded guilty to multiple crimes Tuesday and will have to register as a sex offender, the Washington state Attorney General’s Office said. Rex Newport, 45, pleaded guilty to five criminal counts in a Stevens County courtroom Tuesday, two of them requiring the 15-year veteran of the Colville Police Department to register with the state as having committed a sexual crime. Newport faces a sentence in jail of between 22 and 29 months to be handed down at a hearing in early April, the Attorney General’s Office said. Several women came forward to investigators after an incident in March 2013, when Newport showed up at a Colville resident’s apartment after the bars closed, put a gun belt around her waist, handcuffed her and had sex without her consent, according to court documents. Two other women told investigators that Newport had pulled them over on suspicion of driving while drunk then had sex with them in secluded areas before letting them go without a criminal investigation, according to court documents. Newport originally faced seven criminal charges in an affidavit filed with the Stevens County Superior Court in October. The Attorney General’s Office handled the prosecution because of Newport’s involvement in cases handled by the Stevens County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Defense attorneys tried to get the criminal charges Newport faced split in motions filed late last year, claiming the burglary at the apartment and the DUI stops that led to sex were separate events, while prosecutors argued they showed a pattern of Newport using his badge to prey on women. A judge agreed with prosecutors, signing an order last week throwing out the motion, according to court records. Newport was last listed on administrative leave from the Colville Police Department.
This story is developing and more information will be added as it is available.