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

Gregory McCrea, child rapist with militia ties, jailed in Spokane after release from prison

Greg McCrea is handcuffed as officers prepare to escort him from a Spokane County courtroom in 1999. The serial child rapist and bomb builder was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019, days after his release from federal prison. (Shawn Jacobson / The Spokesman-Review)

Gregory McCrea, a serial child rapist and bomb builder who was released from federal prison last week, is back in custody.

McCrea, 75, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Monday afternoon after spending the weekend at a local hospital.

McCrea was released from the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, on Friday after two decades in federal custody.

He was convicted in 1999 on a litany of state and federal charges, including 11 counts of child rape involving victims as young as 3 years old.

Prosecutors believed he had raped at least 25 children and molested hundreds of others. He also amassed a huge arsenal of ammunition, pipe bombs, grenades, other explosives and firearms, including machine guns.

Though he was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, McCrea was released early, at least in part for good behavior. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons said he had accrued “good conduct time” under the First Step Act, a sentencing overhaul signed into law last year.

McCrea was expected to be transferred to the state Department of Corrections to serve the remaining time on a separate state prison sentence.

With credit for time served in jail before his convictions, he could be incarcerated again for a little more than five years.