OGDEN — One of three serial rapists who prowled Ogden in the mid-1980s has been released on parole, while the others remain behind bars.
Jerry Lee Casida, 40, was released from the Utah State Prison on Sept. 10.
The state Board of Pardons gave Casida high marks for owning up to his crimes. He also was described as remorseful and motivated for rehabilitation, doing well in prison programs and having a support system waiting upon his release and stable release plans.
The other two rapists, Blaine Hogge Nelson and Cary Hartmann, were scheduled for rehearings later this decade after their latest parole hearings.
Several dozen rapes occurred from 1983 through 1986 before the three were arrested.
By 1988, Hartmann, Nelson and Casida all were serving sentences of up to life in prison.
After Nelson's 1991 parole hearing in which he calmly described his method of selecting his victims — looking for children's toys in the yards of single mothers — the board decided not to see Nelson again for 16 more years. His rehearing date is in October 2007.
Hartmann fared better at his Aug. 30, 2000, parole hearing. The board set a rehearing date for August 2005.