A man who sexually assaulted a mentally disabled woman at a rehabilitation center received a life sentence in prison with parole Friday.
Corey Gordon, 43, posed as her personal care attendant at Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Golden Valley. He will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years in prison. The Hennepin County attorney's office asked for the life sentence, which it has been doing more often for the most dangerous sex criminals.
District Court Judge Elizabeth Cutter gave the lengthy sentence after a woman whom Gordon raped in 1990 flew in from Mississippi to testify. The judge then listened as Gordon gave a statement in which he said he had made his victim happy. He also said that the prosecution had ambushed him by bringing in the rape victim, whose version of what happened that night 24 years ago is different from his.
"I agree with Ms. Magnuson," Cutter said, referring to the probation officer who wrote the pre-sentence investigation after interviewing Gordon. "I am astounded at your view of the world. No one deserves a life sentence more than you."
Gordon was charged in June 2013 with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He first met the victim in October 2012 at the Mall of America. The woman, then 31, was shopping with her mother, but was alone long enough for Gordon to talk to her, learn about her disability and exchange phone numbers. The woman has a rare brain disorder that leaves her with the reasoning and emotional level of a fourth-grader.
The family saw text messages on the woman's phone from Gordon and told him to stay away. But in May 2013, when her mother was dropping her daughter off for therapy at the rehab center, she was told that the young woman's personal care attendant was waiting.
The sister of the Minnesota victim read victim impact statements from her sister and their mother. The mother wrote that her daughter turned hostile toward her family while Gordon was abusing her.
David Chanen • 612-673-4465
