Kennewick rapist wants proof woman did not consent. Appeals court says ‘no’

A convicted rapist believes prosecutors should have been required to prove that a Kennewick woman did not give him the OK to have sex.

Leland H. Knapp IV appealed his 2018 conviction for second-degree rape by forcible compulsion.

He argued a Benton County judge should have given a jury instruction proposed by the defense, requiring prosecutors “to prove lack of consent beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The Washington state Court of Appeals left no doubt, telling Knapp, “No.”

In a recent opinion issued by the Spokane-based court, Judge Robert Lawrence-Berrey said the trial judge correctly instructed jurors that evidence of consent may be considered in determining whether Knapp used force to have sex.

That is the law in Washington, said the three-judge panel, making it clear that Knapp was not entitled to an instruction putting the burden on the prosecution.

Knapp, 38, is serving a mandatory minimum prison term of nine years and two months in the Monroe Correctional Complex. His maximum sentence is life so it will be up to a state board to decide when he ultimately is released.

The opinion was published by the appellate court, which means lawyers across the state will be able to cite the Knapp decision when making legal arguments on other rape cases.

Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller and Deputy Prosecutor Terry Bloor, who argued the appeal, said they were happy with the decision.

Knapp can petition the Washington state Supreme Court to review his case.

She said ‘No’ and ‘Stop’

Knapp and the adult victim had been friends for many years.

The woman told police that she had been napping in the bedroom of her Kennewick home before the 2016 Super Bowl game when she heard a knock on her window.

She looked outside, saw it was Knapp and let him in the front door.

Knapp made comments about wanting to have sex with her, which the woman said surprised her because they had never been intimate during their relationship. She refused his advances.

He left her house but returned a short time later claiming he left his bandana on the couch.

That’s when he grabbed the woman, started kissing her neck, threw her down and tried to undress her.

She pushed Knapp away and screamed, trying to get the attention of her neighbors. Knapp overpowered her, stuffed the bandana in her mouth and raped her.

The woman testified she told Knapp, “No,” “Stop,” and “Don’t do this.”

After the violent attack, Knapp threatened her with a knife.

The woman’s first phone call was an emotional one to her mom. Ten minutes later she dialed 911.

Consensual sex claim

Knapp was later picked up in Columbia Park and immediately told an officer, “It’s her word against mine.”

He admitted being high on methamphetamine that day.

Knapp testified at trial that they were “friends with benefits” and the sex was consensual. The woman only turned on him and falsely accused Knapp of rape when he could not find his meth to share with her, he claimed.

Knapp’s defense attorney proposed the jury instruction that would have required the state prove an absence of consent.

Prosecutors instead asked Superior Court Judge Cameron Mitchell to read an instruction that said the state is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant used force in accomplishing the rape.

Otherwise, there is no forcible compulsion if the other person consented to sex.

Mitchell denied the defense request, which Knapp’s appeal said was a mistake.

The judge believed that giving that instruction would have added a fourth element to the crime for prosecutors to prove — that Knapp had sex with the woman; the sex was by forcible compulsion; it happened in Washington; and there was no consent.

Set a legal standard

Jurors who convicted Knapp said the victim’s first thought to call her mom was compelling and helped her credibility.

The appellate judges concluded that Mitchell did not make a legal mistake because Knapp’s proposed instruction incorrectly stated the law.

The law actually says the burden to prove consent cannot be placed on the defendant, but makes no mention of shifting that burden to prosecutors, according to the 12-page appeals opinion.

Prosecutor Miller commended Bloor’s work on the appeal “for getting justice for the victim in this case, and for setting a legal standard that will help rape victims across the state of Washington.”

He also complimented Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Howell who tried the case in early 2018 and secured the rape conviction.

The appeals court granted Knapp’s request to strike the $100 DNA fee that was ordered at sentencing, since Knapp had his DNA collected as the result of two prior felony convictions in the past 17 years.

The court also declined to review Knapp’s claims of prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel since he did not give any specifics in his appeal.