Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
COLFAX – An Elk man has pleaded guilty in several decades old rape cases.
Kenneth Downing, pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree rape and one coun of second-degree assault with sexual motivation.
Downing will spend 213-283 months (17-23.5 years) to life in prison, in a plea deal supported by the victims.
A sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 19 beforeWhitman County Superior Court Judge Gary Libey.
The sex crimes date back 19 years to 2003, records show. The case began in 2003 when a woman reported she was raped at gunpoint in her home to Pullman police, records show.
In March of 2004, two other Pullman women reported being raped and tied up by a man waiting for them at their home, records show.
“The fact that it was a 20-year-old cold case makes this a very important case to WSU and Pullman — all three victims were students,” Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dan LeBeau said Tuesday. “It’s affected the whole community.”
Police were able to link the assaults to one person after collecting DNA from both cases, however, a suspect couldn’t be identified at the time.
A profile was developed while police pursued a forensic genetic genealogy match, records show. This narrowed the search down to two possible matches — Downing and his brother.
Investigators collected DNA evidence from a restaurant where Downing was and made a direct match, records show. He was arrested March 17 in Spokane.
If released from prison, Downing will have to register as a sex offender on life-time supervision with the department of corrections, and the survivors will have a life-time protection order.
“The survivor’s remarkable courage and fortitude made this outcome possible,” LeBeau said.
Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.
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