Jury decides child rapist should remain locked up at McNeil Island

LONGVIEW, Wash. -- A jury's decision this week means that a Longview man convicted of raping a boy will remain indefinitely at the Special Commitment Center on McNeil Island.

After a two-week trial, a Cowlitz County Superior Court jury decided Monday that 47-year-old Joel Reimer is still a sexually violent predator and should remain behind bars.

The Daily News of Longview reports that Reimer has been incarcerated for the past 25 years after pleading guilty to raping a boy and coercing two other children into sex.

Defense attorney Pete MacDonald argued that if Reimer truly hadn't reformed himself, he would have found more opportunities to act out while incarcerated.