Renton man charged with rape; faces life in prison if convicted

A 41-year-old convicted sex offender living in Renton would face life in prison if he's convicted of any of three rape charges that have been filed against him, according to the King County Prosecutor's Office.

Kenneth Demone Sims, who lives in an apartment complex in the 200 block of Lind Avenue Southwest not far from where the rapes occurred, would face life in prison under the state's "Two Strike" law for sex offenders.

The assaults occurred in November and December and on June 3, according to prosecutors. He was arrested on June 18 when he arrived home with his girlfriend and their eight-month-old son.

He either showed or implied he had a weapon – a gun or a knife, according to prosecutors.

Sims was charged Monday with two counts of second-degree rape, one count of first-degree rape and two counts of first-degree kidnapping.

Bail was previously set at $1 million; however, prosecutors have requested that Sims' bail be increased to $2 million, according to Dan Donohoe, a spokesman for Prosecutor's Office.

His arraignment is set for July 7 at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Sims has a prior rape conviction from 1990. He is registered as a Level 3 sex offender, which means he has a high risk to re-offend.

Renton Police had previously done a community notification meeting about Sims and circulated bulletins regarding the suspect.

Expressing frustration with the state's sentencing guidelines for convicted sex offenders, Mayor Denis Law said he plans to talk with Renton Police Chief Kevin Milosevich about ways to encourage the state Legislature to change those guidelines.

"They are going to re-offend; we just don't know when," said Law.

Contact Renton Reporter Editor Dean Radford at editor@rentonreporter.com or 1-425-255-3484 (ext 5050).

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