An Oregon serial rapist known as the “jogger rapist” is scheduled to be released from prison in December after serving nearly 36 years, almost the entirety of his maximum sentence.
Richard Gillmore, who got his nickname because he would stake out victims while jogging by their homes, was arrested in 1986. He confessed to raping nine girls in the Portland area in the 1970s and 1980s but was only convicted in one case due to the statute of limitations.
A jury found him guilty in 1987 of raping 13-year-old Tiffany Edens the year before. She is his last known victim.
Edens recently addressed his impending release on social media, when she said she received a voicemail in August from the state’s Victim Information and Notification Service, warning her of his upcoming release.
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In this 2008 photo, convicted rapist Richard Gillmore is pictured during his parole hearing in Salem, Ore. Gillmore is set to be released from prison in mid-December 2022 after serving nearly 36 years behind bars, almost all of his maximum sentence.
“I have been slowly processing the reality of it all,” she wrote.
Prison officials said Gillmore was transferred in August from Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla to the minimum-security Columbia River Correctional Institution in Portland to help him prepare for his release into society, The Oregonian reported. He will be 63 when he is released in December.
According to KOIN, Gillmore will remain under supervision until 2034 and could find himself back behind bars if he violates his parole.
In the Edens case, a judge sentenced Gillmore to at least 30 years in prison with a 60-year maximum. However, a parole board cut his sentence in half a year after his conviction.
Richard Gillmore, called the “jogger rapist” because he would stake out victims while jogging by their homes, was arrested in 1986. He confessed to raping nine girls in the Portland area in the 1970s and 1980s but was only convicted in one case due to the statute of limitations.
Danielle Tudor accused Gillmore of raping her in 1979 when she was a teenager. She has publicly opposed his release.
“If he had been able to have been charged for all the rapes he committed, he’d never be getting out,” Tudor told KOIN.
Gillmore has been classified as a sex offender at the lowest risk of reoffending and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life because of his rape conviction. The low-level classification means the state and county are not required to alert surrounding residents if he is living in their area.
Prison officials said Gillmore was transferred in August from Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla to the minimum-security Columbia River Correctional Institution in Portland to help him prepare for his release into society.
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His victims have expressed outrage that he is not classified as a high-risk sex offender.
Tudor said she failed to understand why he was being classified as a low-level sex offender, according to The Oregonian.
“He was designated as a dangerous offender at trial,” Tudor said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
