‘South Hill rapist’ Kevin Coe kicked off Muckleshoot tribal land

The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe ordered “South Hill rapist” Kevin Coe off their land two weeks ago, prompting his latest move to a group home in Federal Way.

Coe’s updated registration now shows the third address he has planned to live in since his release from McNeil Island earlier this month. Every home Coe has attempted to move into has drawn blowback from neighbors and city leaders.

That includes his new address in Federal Way, which is about 500 feet from an elementary school. Neighbors were not notified ahead of time that Coe, who is now a registered Level 3 sex offender – the most extreme classification – was moving into a nearby home.

Though Coe’s criminal record includes only one rape conviction, he is suspected of raping dozens of teen girls and women on Spokane’s South Hill from 1977 to 1981, according to court documents and previous reporting from The Spokesman-Review.

The updated registration follows confusion and anger from residents and officials in Auburn who learned through media reports two weeks ago that Coe had moved into a group home near the Muckleshoot Casino on the city’s East Hill.

Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus previously said the city did not receive advanced notice that Coe would move to the city. Following his registration, Backus said the Auburn Police Department verified his address and would begin “frequent verification checks” to ensure Coe was compliant.

A spokesperson for Backus said Tuesday that The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe served Coe an order to vacate “shortly after he was released on their land.” Coe faces a hearing this week where he could contest the order, though it is unclear if he plans to do so.

A representative for the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

In her statement Tuesday, Backus said that through the “quick, coordinated work of the Auburn Police Department, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe of Indians, and engaged members of our community, Mr. Coe has since been removed from his Auburn residence and is no longer living in our city.”

“Their diligence and rapid action ensured that Auburn did not bear the burden of a decision on which we were never consulted,” Backus said .

Coe’s move to Auburn came after residents and the mayor of Federal Way voiced similar concern that he would call their city home after four decades in state custody.

Following his release from McNeil Island, media members waited for hours outside of a group home in Federal Way, where state officials said Coe would reside, as word spread through the neighborhood about their newest neighbor.

Coe, however, did not arrive at the home following his release on Oct. 2, and his Oct. 7 sex offender registration instead listed an address in Auburn.

That move caught Backus and the neighborhood’s residents by surprise. The Spokesman-Review talked to neighbors who said they had not been notified that a sex offender had moved into the area. One cited previous news reports that Coe would live in Federal Way.

Following his move to Auburn, a spokesperson for the Department of Social and Health Services noted that Coe had been “unconditionally released by a court and is no longer in the care or custody” of the agency.

Residents of Federal Way were equally unaware on Tuesday of Coe’s move. One neighbor, who said he didn’t want to provide his name as he had just learned of Coe’s registration, said “it was kind of shocking, that’s all I can say, that no one would bother to inform us or let us know what’s going on in our own little neighborhood here.”

It was unclear if Coe was at the new listed address Tuesday. While the window blinds were open, the lights were off, and no one came to the door when reporters knocked.

Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell said in a statement Tuesday that “We do not have a say in this matter, and we certainly understand the concerns surrounding it.”

Ferrell added that he was “deeply concerned” that Coe is registered to live near an elementary school. The home where Coe will reside is less than 500 feet from Brigadoon Elementary School.

“I strongly urge our State Legislature to re-examine these laws and consider whether it is in the public’s best interest to allow such individuals to live near any school,” Ferrell said.

Coe will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Ferrell said his city is working with the King County Sherriff’s Office to send notifications to all residents within a quarter mile of his registered address. The notification will include details about Coe, his current location and a current photo.

According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, notifying residents that a Level 3 sex offender has moved into their city can take “two weeks to several months.” A law enforcement agency can only notify residents after it “requests, receives, and reviews all original information about the offender’s offense,” and verifies their level.