Detroit’s serial rapist is behind bars. Raynard Coleman was arraigned on suspected charges of raping, robbing, and kidnapping women in Detroit since the beginning of the year.
In a press conference, Deputy Chief of the Wayne County’s Prosecutor’s Office, Jerry Dorsey, listed charges ranging from Felony Possession of a Firearm to First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. The Detroit serial rapist allegedly forced his victims at gunpoint to secluded locations where they were robbed and sexually assaulted. In most cases, the victims were waiting for a bus or walking to or from a bus stop. Coleman is being charged with a half-dozen attacks on local Detroit women. The female victims picked him out of a line-up. In addition, there is DNA evidence linking Coleman to the rapes.
Detroit Police Chief, Ralph Godbee, said that the Detroit Police Department was very confident that “this day would arrive!” Godbee has also called Raynard Coleman a “monster.” I agree 100 percent with Mr. Godbee. The attorney for Raynard Coleman says that the prison system, where 31-year-old Coleman spent half of his life, may have helped make him “a monster.” Even if the prison system aided in the corruption of Mr. Coleman’s soul, he is still 100 percent responsible for his actions. Let’s not forget that Coleman spent 14 years in prison on an attempted murder conviction. He is not the innocent lamb here. If Coleman is convicted of raping, robbing and kidnapping those women — and the Detroit police are contending that DNA evidence says he did commit the rapes, he will be spending the rest of his life in prison.
In 2008, the Adam Walsh Act was passed. It requires registered sex offenders to check-in every 90 days, and requires that neighbors be notified when an offender moves into the neighborhood. Since Coleman was not a registered sex offender, it is easy to see how Coleman embarked on such a heinous series of rapes and kidnappings undetected. America’s Most Wanted, a volunteer manhunt group, and the Detroit Police Department were relentless in their pursuit of Detroit’s serial rapist. Although Coleman was not a registered sex offender, his felonious criminal background should have made him a suspect early on. Needless to say, Coleman was and is an incredibly dangerous threat to the public. Coleman should be locked up for life in complete isolation if you ask me.
“Out of the more than 20,000 prisoners in the United States, about 2% are currently living in “super maximum security (“supermax”) facilities or units. Prisoners in these facilities typically spend their waking and sleeping hours locked in small, sometimes windowless, cells sealed with solid steel doors. A few times a week they are let out for showers and solitary exercise in a small, enclosed space. Supermax prisoners have almost no access to educational or recreational activities or other sources of mental stimulation and are usually handcuffed, shackled and escorted by two or three correctional officers every time they leave their cells. Assignment to supermax housing is usually for an indefinite period that may continue for years. Individuals do vary in how well they can deal with living in isolation. For prisoners with pre-existing mental or emotional disorders, living without normal human interaction, physical and mental activity and stimulation can aggravate their symptoms to levels equivalent to torture. Social isolation and sensory deprivation drove some prisoners to “lash out by swallowing razors, smashing their heads into walls or cutting their flesh.”
I have no sympathy for rapists because they cause rape victims a lifetime of pain and suffering. Unfortunately, a lot of rape survivors are driven to some of the same behaviors as isolated prisoners.
The effects and aftermath of rape can include both physical trauma and psychological trauma. Childhood and adulthood victims of rape are more likely to attempt or commit suicide. The most common long-term effects of sexual assault and rape are the invisible (psychological) ones. In terms of a victim’s impact statement there are 3 types of effects: physical/psychological, financial and social. The immediate symptoms of rape trauma include having unpredictable and intense emotions. The victim may have an exaggerated startle response (jumpy), may have memories and intrusive thoughts about the assault, nightmares, difficulty sleeping and difficulty concentrating. The long-term psychological effects of rape can include post traumatic stress disorder, rape trauma syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disturbances, self-injury, self blame, panic attacks, flashbacks, body memories and sleeping disorders. Unfortunately, in many cases, these effects can be life long if the victim does not get immediate support and care. The way these symptoms are exhibited can be either expressive or subdued.
I am relieved that Coleman has been locked up without bond. In my opinion, life imprisonment and the absolute denial of freedom in prison will be exactly the kind of punishment that Coleman deserves.
Oftentimes in rape cases, the accused rapist escapes from justice. In most of those rape cases, there was no DNA evidence. Thank GOD the DNA scientific evidence will tell a different story than the defense lawyer for Coleman who contends that he is innocent. I am confident that justice will prevail in this case.
If you would like to read more about this topic, please visit my blogposts entitled Stopping Rape By Any Means Necessary and The Eric Frimpong Story.
Love, hope, peace, and joy,
Rachel Araya
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