CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A judge told a serial rapist who terrorized a local community he won’t ever get out of prison.
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Clayton County Superior Court Judge Aaron B. Mason then ordered Kenneth Bowen III to serve 6 consecutive sentences of life without the possibility of parole.
Before Judge Mason sentenced Bowen, some of the survivors spoke to Bowen during their victim impact statements. One victim stared at him as she spoke.
“I don’t hate you, but I don’t forgive you,” she said from the witness stand.
She told him there was no way she could forgive him for trying to destroy her life.
“The woman I was that day died and I will never be the same.”
Another sex assault victim told Bowen what he did to her strengthened her and brought her closer to God.
“Also I want to say that me and my family, we forgive you. I am now able to move forward in my life,” she said calmly.
Police say Bowen terrorized women in Clayton County from 2015 to 2019.
They say he surprised many of them as they slept, beating and raping them at knife or gunpoint. Sometimes with small children just feet away.
Prosecutor Bonnie Smith detailed for the court some of the chilling encounters the women had with Bowen.
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In one, she said Bowen attacked a victim with her baby in the bed and another child in a room not far away.
“That man told her don’t fight or I will kill your children,” Smith said.
Police say they linked Bowen to at least 9 rapes through DNA. Right before his trial started Bowen said he wanted a non-negotiated plea to avoid trial.
Bowen said he was sorry to the victims, at the urging of his attorney. He said he wanted a chance at freedom. He also asked the judge to sentence him to life.
“I have changed my life and I would just ask for your best discretion,” he said.
Prosecutors recommended Bowen serve a minimum of two life sentences. Bowen mentioned prosecutors had offered him a plea deal several times in the past, but the two sides couldn’t find common ground.
Mason told Bowen he should have taken the state’s plea offer.
“Cause you’re not gonna get out. Ever again. You’ve earned this,” Mason told Bowen.
He then sentenced Bowen to six consecutive sentences of life without parole.
One survivor told Bowen he didn’t destroy her.
“I’m not a victim. I’m a survivor. And I’m going to keep surviving,” she said.
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Bowen’s attorney told the court Bowen has an 8-year-old daughter. You could hear some in the audience groan and sigh.
One of the victims says they wondered how would Bowen feel if someone attacked his daughter and how would he comfort her after what he did to so many women.
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