a judge of Florida (USA) sentenced Robert Koehler to 17 years in prison, 63 years old, for a 1983 case reopened thanks to DNA evidence against the alleged serial abuserknown as “pillowcase rapist”, who would have sexually assaulted about 45 women in South Florida during the 1980s.
Although Koehler was found guilty of sexual assault of a woman last January, this Thursday, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Daryl E. Trawick decided to drop this charge as it had expired under Florida statute guidelines.
The judge did uphold the charges of kidnapping with a weapon and robbery with assault, so sentenced the defendant to 17 years in prison.
This is the case of a woman, currently 65 years old, victim of sexual assault by Koehler in Miami-Dade County, on December 28, 1983, when she was 25 years old.
The trial garnered media attention after Koehler was suspected of being the famous “pillowcase rapist”who was arrested thanks to DNA evidence in 2020.
The man, who appeared in a wheelchair and aged during the trial, at all times denied having been the perpetrator of the rape and kidnapping of the citizen.
Prosecutor Laura Adams stressed that the DNA test carried out shows that Koehler was the perpetrator of the sexual abuse. Furthermore, he insisted that he terrorized his victim with the help of a weapon.
“He terrorized an innocent woman in her home,” he said during his final statement, asking the jury not to hesitate to convict him, which indeed happened.
In 2020, this subject had been arrested for a sexual assault case and later identified as a suspect of being the “pillowcase rapist”.
Detectives used Koehler’s son’s DNA to associate him with the rapes.
After testing, the authorities found that he matched the suspect in eight reported cases of abuse.
the nickname of “pillowcase rapist” is because he sometimes covered the heads of his victims or his own in this way.
According to authorities, Koehler threatened the women with killing them or their family members before raping and robbing them. For this reason, the case became very publicized at the time, but, in the absence of evidence, it was forgotten until now.
Help channels in Peru
If you are a victim of gender violence or know someone who is going through a similar situation, you can contact the line 100created by the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations, of the Peruvian Government.
In addition, this line has the power to refer the most serious cases of family or sexual violence to the Women’s Emergency Centers or the Urgent Care Service. The service is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, including holidays.
Source-larepublica.pe