With ‘Waldo Rapist’ in prison for life, prosecutors drop remaining charges

Jackson County prosecutors announced Tuesday they are dropping the remaining criminal charges against Bernard Jackson — known as the “Waldo Rapist” — because it appears Jackson will certainly spend the rest of his life in prison.

Jackson’s convictions in 2011 for a string of rapes in the 1980s have withstood legal appeals, and he is currently serving 18 consecutive life sentences. He was also charged in a more recent string of attacks in 2009 and 2010, but prosecutors said that after discussions with victims, they decided not to prosecute Jackson for those crimes.

“We are in agreement with the victims in these cases that justice has been served, knowing that Jackson will spend the rest of his life in prison,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement.

Now 58, Jackson has been convicted of crimes committed against five women in 1983 and 1984 in the Waldo and Armour Hills neighborhoods of Kansas City. After being caught in the last of those attacks, he spent more than 20 years in prison before being paroled in 2008. When similar crimes were reported again soon after, he became a suspect again and DNA evidence linked him to the older rapes.

Fourteen of Jackson’s 18 life sentences are classified as life without parole because of his status as a persistent sexual offender, prosecutors said.

After he was sent to prison for life, Jackson still faced 22 felony charges associated with the more recent home invasions and sexual assaults. Prosecutors decided not to pursue those charges in court.

Prosecutors said victim advocates spoke with all of the victims in those crimes about dismissing the remaining cases, and all agreed because they knew Jackson will remain in prison for life and they will not have to endure a trial.

This story was originally published November 1, 2016 at 5:41 PM with the headline "With ‘Waldo Rapist’ in prison for life, prosecutors drop remaining charges."