This is beyond sick and makes me beyond angry
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 5:58 am
The Daily NewsBeyond sick: Rapist sells tales
BY DAVE GOLDINER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, June 14th 2009, 8:30 PM
A notorious East Harlem sex killer is shamelessly hawking disgusting handwritten accounts of his rape spree on the Internet.
Arohn Kee, who is serving life in prison for three rape-murders, has created 20 revolting "rape cards" that a Web site is selling for $19 a pop.
"It's very, very disturbing," said Gregory Washington, whose daughter Rasheeda was raped and strangled by Kee. "This is just an added insult."
Rosa Castro, whose daughter Johalis was also murdered, couldn't bear to hear the details of the online outrage.
"I don't want to reopen the wound," the mom said. "It is very painful. I don't want to go back to the time of the murder."
The 5-by-7-inch cards each include an explicit description of sex attacks and echo the shameless taunts that Kee leveled at his real-life victims.
"Say, 'I love it,' " he has written on one card.
There's also his "prison-worn" T-shirt on sale for $99 and a color mug shot, both autographed by Kee, along with a hot-dog wrapper that he supposedly used behind bars.
The Web site pulls no punches in exalting Kee's brutal credentials.
"Each Rape Card has violent sex written in his hand," the site boasts. "Signed In Full at bottom in bloody red ink."
Kee, 35, was convicted in 2000 of carrying out a nearly decade-long rape and murder spree in his East Harlem neighborhood. He's doing his time at Attica state prison near Buffalo.
He killed three teenagers: Paola Illera, 13, in 1991, who lived in his building; Johalis Castro, 19, whose smoking corpse was found on a rooftop in 1997, and Rasheeda Washington, 18, who was raped and strangled in a stairwell in 1998.
Even among the annals of murderous serial rapists, Kee stood out for his unrepentant arrogance.
He taunted his half-dozen victims, telling one she was "lucky" to be attacked by such a handsome rapist.
Kee, who claimed to be a rap producer, was busted on Valentine's Day 1999 in a fleabag Miami hotel.
During his trial, Kee claimed he was the victim of an elaborate racist conspiracy and spewed venom at the relatives of his victims.
Kee probably agreed to sell the "rape cards" and other mementos after being approached by the Web site, said Andy Kahan, a victims rights advocate in the Houston mayor's office.
Kahan led a successful nationwide fight to get eBay to ban sales of so-called "murderabilia." But Web sites with names like murderauction.com and prisonboundserialkillers.com still openly sell killers' artwork, trinkets and artifacts.
"It's nauseating for the relatives of victims," said Kahan. "It's like being gutted all over again."
Prison officials vowed to immediately launch an investigation into Kee.
"We share the victims' outrage," said Erik Kriss, a spokesman for the state correction department. "This is something that should not be happening."
Kriss said the sales could violate prison rules against using mail privileges to make money and running businesses from behind bars.
Kee could get tossed into solitary confinement or face loss of mail privileges.
It's unclear if anybody has bought Kee's "rape cards" or other items.
The state Crime Victims Board may try to recover any proceeds under the Son of Sam law.
Gregory Washington said he's not interested in Kee's blood money - but he wants to make sure the rapist never profits from his crimes.
"It's the principle - he's gloating at what he did," he said. "There's no remorse whatsoever."
