How Could You? Hall of Shame-Louis Ray Coleman
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Martinez, California, Louis Ray Coleman, 43, “was convicted last year of 25 counts that included kidnapping, rape, child molestation and human trafficking.”
“Coleman kidnapped a 12-year-old girl who had recently run away from a group home.”
“All seven life terms carry no possibility of parole.
“(The sentence) sends a strong message to the victims and to other people who are considering possibly engaging in this kind of activity that the community cares about these victims,” deputy district attorney Diana Weiss said. “It takes a lot of courage for these people to come forward, and when they do we are going to recognize their bravery.”
Weiss added that police investigators deserved credit for putting the pieces together and connecting both attacks to Coleman, as well as finding women with distressing stories of similar encounters with him, going back more than 20 years.
“This case wouldn’t have happened if Richmond police hadn’t been so thorough,” Weiss said.
Coleman testified during trial that the woman and the girl had come with him willingly and denied the rape and trafficking allegations. At one he told a victim to “stop (expletive) lying” during a courtroom outburst. Jurors took less than a day to convict him.”
“Coleman’s trial took a shocking turn when it was revealed he had been arrested multiple times over the years for similar conduct, including kidnapping a 12-year-old girl in Oakland during the 1990s and forcing another teen girl to live in his basement and earn money for him through sex work in the early 2000s. In those cases, the longest sentence Coleman received was two years and the shortest was 71 days.
“The system did not do what it was supposed to do back then, but it did now, and it will never happen with him again,” Weiss said. “He’s been silenced.””
[East Bay Times 6/8/18 by Nate Garnell]
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