Admitted pimp gets five years in rape of 14-year-old, awaits trial on assault

YAKIMA, Wash. — An admitted pimp who unwittingly gave Yakima police the DNA they needed to prove he got a 14-year-old girl pregnant was sentenced Friday to five years in prison.

What he gets for allegedly trying to kill her while awaiting trial in the rape case remains to be seen.

Kurt Dean Bonser, 49, made no statement and showed no emotion while being sentenced for third-degree rape of a child. Five years was the maximum allowed by law.

A jury last November deliberated less than a half-hour before convicting Bonser of raping the girl, thus setting the stage for a new and separate trial this week on charges that he tried to kill her while out on bail.

That case is being heard by a judge, not a jury. A decision is expected next week.

Both cases have more than their share of twists and turns, especially the rape case, which began in March 2008 when Yakima police learned the girl had a baby.

Detectives had reason to believe Bonser was the father, but without the girl's cooperation the case initially looked like a dead end.

Within days, however, they caught a break.

Bonser had two outstanding warrants for his arrest on unrelated matters. Knowing this, officers set up a surveillance operation to capture him.

That led to a chase, which ended when Bonser fell in a gravel driveway. In the process, he scraped his leg.

According to court records in the case, at the police station Sgt. Kelly Willard offered to get Bonser some paper towels so he could wipe off his leg.

When he was done, Bonser deposited the towels in a garbage can helpfully offered by Willard. What he didn't know was that Willard had cleverly replaced the plastic liner in the can with a clean one.

Voila: DNA sample.

From there, detectives got a court order for a DNA sample from the baby, which proved Bonser's paternity. At trial, the jury quickly brushed aside Bonser's defense that he didn't know how old the girl was.

Now he's on trial again, this time on charges of attempted murder and assault that could send him to prison for way more than five years if he's convicted.

Authorities allege that on the evening of Feb. 28, 2010, not long after getting out on bail in the rape case, Bonser attacked the girl as they sat in a car in an alley off Union Street.

Much of the underlying facts are not in dispute: that Bonser is a pimp, that the girl has worked for him as a prostitute and that he was awaiting trial for impregnating her when she was allegedly attacked.

What is in dispute is whether a neighbor who witnessed the attack really did see Bonser pick up a rock the size and shape of a football and try to beat the girl on the head with it. The rock is now in evidence.

It is also in dispute whether Bonser then got back in his car and tried to run over the girl as she lay crying and covered in mud. The neighbor ended the attack by opening fire on Bonser's car with a hunting rifle.

Acting as jury is Superior Court Judge Robert Lawrence-Berrey, who must decide whether Bonser was actually trying to kill the girl or something less serious.

If convicted, Bonser could get 20 years or more behind bars. Closing arguments are Monday.

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 509-577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisJBristol.

• Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the date of Bonser's first trial and the length of time the jury deliberated.