Man Who Faked Death In CA Sentenced To 15 Years In Jail For Rape

CARMEL, CA — A Scottish man who faked his own death at a beach on the Central Coast of California was sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping three women and sexually assualting a minor, officials in Scotland said.

Kim Avis, 57, was sentenced after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow, Scotland last month. He was convicted of 13 charges related to sexual offences.

Avis and his teenage son reportedly fled to the U.S. and missed a previous trial date. While he was on bail in 2019, he flew into Los Angeles. Several days later, his son reported him missing at Monastery Beach in Carmel, officials said. His son told the sheriff that his father had gone for a swim, the BBC reported.

Officials combed the beach, sometimes called "Mortuary Beach" for its treacherous waters, but found no sign of Avis, who was using the alias "Ken Gordon-Avis" at the time, prosecutors said.

The search was conducted by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office, which deployed a dive team, a coastguard helicopter and a drone to find him, according to the sheriff's office.

But investigators quickly determined that the son's account was missing important information and they began to suspect it was a hoax.

"We continued to investigate the case and learned that Avis was out on bail for 24-felony sexual abuse charges pending in Scotland," the Monterey County Sheriff's office wrote in a statement. "After speaking with his ex-wife, we became suspicious of the drowning report."

After conducting yet another interview with his son, officials determined that he was not telling the truth. He was sent back to Scotland with the help of child protective services in Monterey County.

U.S. Marshalls Service then issued a warrent through Interpol and Scottish authories. Authorities found and arrested Avis in Colorado Springs, Colorado several months later. He was extradited to Scotland, where he was held until his trial date.

“Kim Avis went to great lengths to evade justice for his crimes,” said Fraser Gibson, the public prosecutor for High Court sexual offenses. “Thanks to the efforts of police and prosecutors, working together with U.S. law enforcement, he has been brought to justice.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.