Serial Rapist Sentenced To 22 Years

Thu., March 13, 1997

From Staff And Wire Reports

A serial rapist described by friends as a considerate, church-going young man has been sentenced to more than 22 years in prison.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Vicki Hogan imposed the maximum sentence Tuesday on Jerry Dwayne Cheatam, 24, at the recommendation of deputy prosecutor Tim Jones.

Cheatam, who was charged with first-degree rape, was convicted after a six-day trial last month.

His friends and relatives urged the judge to be lenient with him, saying the attacks were out of character. But his victims, writing to Hogan, said the rapes had left them emotionally scarred and that Cheatam deserved stern punishment.

Cheatam initially was charged with eight sex-related crimes that took place between Oct. 31, 1995, and June 3, 1996.

Police say the attacks occurred in the rapist’s car, at bus stops, a home and on a high school campus.

Cheatam still faces sentencing for two other rapes and a burglary to which he pleaded guilty Feb. 10 in a plea bargain. In return, prosecutors agreed to recommend that his sentences be served at the same time as the 22-year, 5-month sentence he received from Hogan.

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