Dori: A King County court let a rapist walk free

We recently got a tip about a brutal rapist who was allowed to walk free a couple of days ago. KIRO Radio’s Hanna Scott is on this story.

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In 2007, two guys, in a car, allegedly abducted a woman from Second and Pike in downtown Seattle. One of the men raped her in the backseat as they drove her to a homeless camp. The man reportedly told her that he wanted her to be a prostitute for him. She told him that he’d have to kill her first, so he held a screwdriver to her head and threatened her as he brutally raped her again.

The woman went to the hospital and they did a rape kit. Here in Washington we have a huge backlog of rape kit tests. They did not get around to testing this 2007 horrific rape until 2016.

They found this guy, Johnny Lay, in Illinois. On Monday, he appeared in court here in Seattle. The prosecutor said, “This is a brutal rape and we want the bail set at $500,000. He’s a guy with a homeless history and a long criminal history, including sexual assault, drug, domestic violence convictions.”

Johnny Lay’s defense attorney said, “Wait a second — you had this rape kit for 10 years and didn’t do anything about it. Why should we believe that King County is serious in requesting $500,000 bail?” And the judge agreed. They let this guy walk free.

He walked out of court on $1 bail. They let him walk out of court when he’s accused of a violent rape with a deadly weapon. He is out there walking around in the Puget Sound area today.

This is a guy who has, in his criminal past, sexual assault with a 14-year-old girl. And the judges in this county let violent people like him walk free.

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