Police ask prosecutor to review rape case

Spokane Police will ask a prosecutor Monday to reconsider filing charges in a 2000 rape investigation involving property manager Arlin R. Jordin.

Sixty-two women have contacted police since the 57-year-old Jordin was charged earlier this month with second-degree rape. In that case, a woman told police that she believes Jordin drugged her drink and then raped her when she went to his home to see about an apartment Jordin had for rent.

Of the 62 women, 11 said they believe they were raped and nine said they believe they were drugged but were able to get away. The remaining 42 reported odd behavior from Jordin, such as answering the door in a robe or offering drinks while he conducted his rental business, Detective Jan Pogachar said.

In the 2000 case, a woman made a similar allegation. She said she answered an apartment ad and Jordin offered her drinks and raped her, Pogachar said.

That investigation “was submitted to the prosecutor’s office and they declined to do it,” Pogachar said. “I’m going to resubmit it to see if they will consider it.”

Another woman called police after Jordin was charged this month and told Pogachar about an encounter this summer in which she believes she was raped by Jordin, Pogachar said.

“Unfortunately, there is nothing to corroborate the statements,” Pogachar said.

The report came too late for detectives to conduct a rape examination or check the woman’s system for possible drugs. Both were done in the most recent case that resulted in Jordin’s current charge, Pogachar said.

“I think the rest (of the rape allegations) were 1999 or earlier,” she said.

Washington has a three-year statute of limitations for reporting rape. However, if a victim reports the rape within one year of when the attack occurred, the statute of limitations extends to 10 years, Sgt. Brad Arleth said.

It doesn’t appear any of the remaining charges would fall into the extended time, he said.

“Even if it happened two-and-a-half years ago, what do we have?” Arleth asked. “We have a pattern of conduct that tells me what was reported probably happened.”

However, just like the report from this past summer, police only have the victim’s word against the suspect’s word, he said. And, it’s not illegal to answer the door in your robe or offer women drinks during discussions about rent, Arleth said.

Jordin remains free after District Court Judge Annette Plese threw out a $10,000 bond on Dec. 6 and agreed with defense attorney Bevan Maxey to release Jordin on his own recognizance.

Reached Wednesday, Maxey declined to comment.

Jordin has no criminal record except for some traffic violations in the 1970s, police spokesman Dick Cottam said in an earlier interview.

Pogachar said she forwarded the 62 reports to Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Ed Hay for his consideration on the existing rape charge. Hay is expected to return from vacation on Monday, she said.

Pogachar, who investigates sex crimes, said she’s annoyed that more women didn’t earlier report contacts with Jordin. The reports date back to 1987.

“My frustration factor is that … nobody really called the police or said, ‘Hey, this is fishy. Keep an eye on this person,’ ” she said. “I don’t know that we would have been able to do anything or not. I don’t know if we would have been able to save the women who reported (rape) this year or not.”