Dawn Reid, right, shows Gov. Jay Inslee a pencil drawing of her daughter, Kimberly, after Inslee signed a bill titled with Kimberly’s name. State Rep. Debra Lekanoff, left, took part in the ceremony. (Gabe Galanda)

Dawn Reid, right, shows Gov. Jay Inslee a pencil drawing of her daughter, Kimberly, after Inslee signed a bill titled with Kimberly’s name. State Rep. Debra Lekanoff, left, took part in the ceremony. (Gabe Galanda)

Governor signs Kimberly Bender’s Law

Legislation named for Quileute tribe member ratchets up penalty for custodial sex abuse

OLYMPIA — A bill that memorializes a Quileute tribal member whose bravery led to harsher penalties for custodial sex abuse was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Jay Inslee.

Kimberly Bender’s mother, Dawn Reid of La Push, accompanied by Bender’s stepfather, Vincent Reid, looked on as Inslee made Kimberly Bender’s Law official.

The 23-year-old single mother was being hospitalized in November 2019 after cutting herself while incarcerated at the Forks jail when she pointed out Corrections Officer John Gray as her abuser.

Returned to the jail, she died by suicide in December 2019.

Her accusation sparked an investigation.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Four female inmates said Gray fondled and had sex with them, and tormented one woman for three years.

Gray, then 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony custodial sexual assault and two counts of gross misdemeanor sexual assault for abusing them.

Kimberly Bender’s Law upgrades the gross misdemeanors to a Class C felony and the felony assault to a Class B felony, boosting the maximum sentences to five years and 10 years and ensuring those convicted of custodial sexual assault must register as sex offenders.

Gray, sentenced to 20 months, served 13 months on all four charges.

According to court records, while Bender detoxed from heroin, Gray made lewd comments toward her, called her princess, and ogled her from the doorway to her cell.

“I was infuriated,” Reid said Thursday before the bill was signed.

“I was just really upset that that was all he was going to get when my daughter got a life sentence.

“I’m happy that they put this law in place so this doesn’t happen to other women,” she added.

“I’m happy this is going forward and sad that this had to happen in order for the law to be changed.”

Sponsored by Spokane Valley-area Sen. Mike Padden and co-sponsored by Sen. Kevin Van De Wege of Sequim, it was submitted to lawmakers during the legislative session as Senate Bill 5033, passing unanimously in the House and Senate.

Kimberly Bender’s Law changes a statute passed in 1999, SB 5234, which was requested by the state Department of Corrections.

“The more I learned, the more I thought this really is a necessary policy change,” Padden said.

The name change of SB 5033 in honor of her daughter was suggested by Reid at a Senate hearing.

“I thought she was amazing to say something,” Reid said Thursday.

During testimony before a legislative committee in February, Reid said: “Had Kimberly not spoken up, John Gray would have assaulted more women.”

Gray’s lewd comments and abusive behavior toward Bender were corroborated in interviews contained in a Forks Police Department report, her lawyer, indigenous rights attorney Gabe Galanda of Seattle, said in an earlier interview.

“She was the whistleblower,” Galanda said during the February testimony.

The city of Forks paid $1 million to settle the family’s negligence-civil rights case surrounding Bender’s death.

________

Legislative Reporter Paul Gottlieb, a former senior reporter at Peninsula Daily News, can be reached at cpaulgottlieb@gmail.com.

More in News

Shannon Story of Port Angeles, an employee of ACI construction in Tacoma, directs traffic on Water Street in Port Townsend on Wednesday as heavy equipment is jostled around the job site. The company is replacing a 100-year-old sewer pipeline with larger and stronger materials. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Sewer replacement

Shannon Story of Port Angeles, an employee of ACI construction in Tacoma,… Continue reading

Jefferson closer to facilities district

Public hearing could take place March 10

Federal, state cuts could have impact at Clallam Transit

General manager says agency has ‘good reserve’

Three fish passage projects to impact traffic

WSDOT says there will be an 80-day detour

Firefighters extinguish porch fire in Port Angeles

A back porch of a Port Angeles home caught… Continue reading

Port Angeles School Board to interview semi-finalists for superintendent

The Port Angeles School District board has selected five… Continue reading

The ferry MV Coho backs into its landing after returning to Port Angeles on Tuesday following annual dry dock and maintenance in Anacortes. During the maintenance period, extensive work was performed on the dock, including replacement of a wing wall used to steer and secure the vessel during loading and unloading of cars and passengers. The ferry is scheduled to resume daily service between Port Angeles and Victoria on Thursday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Coho returns

The ferry MV Coho backs into its landing after returning to Port… Continue reading

Building association calls for city to cease utility charges

Association says charges unconstitutional

Jefferson Land Trust considering conservation burial ground

Funds from plot sales could fund habitat improvements

Port Angeles artist Bob Stokes sits in his studio and music venue on Wednesday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Art community mourns Bob Stokes’ passing

Legacy includes statues, concerts, gatherings

Clallam PUD
Cindy Kimble, Clallam PUD’s customer and community outreach programs coordinator, can help residents navigate the utility district’s revamped low-income energy assistance program.
Clallam PUD hires staff to help low-income customers

Clallam County Public Utility District has overhauled its low-income energy… Continue reading

Jen Colmore, left, and June Nichols of the Sequim Food Bank serve a sample of chili to Monica Dixon of Sequim during Saturday’s Community Chili Cookoff at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club. The event, organized by the club and Boy Scout Troop 90, showcased the culinary skills of six community organizations with each group receiving a share of the proceeds and the winner taking a $500 prize. The food bank’s chili recipe took top honors in the competition. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Chili cookoff

Jen Colmore, left, and June Nichols of the Sequim Food Bank serve… Continue reading