Rapist returns to face punishment after 10 years

Bill Gang

Thursday, Nov. 19, 1998 | 11:24 a.m.

A decade after fleeing Nevada to avoid trial on charges of raping a Metro Police detective's 12-year-old daughter, James Rankin has pleaded guilty to end the case that has haunted both him and his victim.

As the consequence of Wednesday's plea bargain, the 35-year-old defendant will be sentenced to life in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until he has served 10 years.

"He showed a fair amount of courage and fortitude in facing the music rather than living out his life in England," said his attorney Elliot Yug.

"Not a day has gone by that he didn't think about this," added defense attorney Donald Green, who explained that Rankin found God and decided to return to Las Vegas to face his fate.

It is a resolution that Deputy District Attorney Thomas Moreo said the victim, now 22, also needs.

"She is still affected by this and was adamant about testifying had the case gone to trial," he said. "She wanted closure but hasn't been able to put this behind her. Hopefully now she can say that she can move on."

She was baby-sitting when Rankin, a friend of the family who hired her, came to the house and sexually assaulted her and warned her not to tell anyone of the incident, Moreo said.

The girl, in fact, didn't talk because "she was too scared to tell," the prosecutor noted.

But Rankin boasted to friends that he "did a cop's daughter," and one of those friends called the family who had hired her. When confronted the day after the incident, she admitted what had happened.

Moreo noted the case was close to a plea bargain 10 years ago, but Rankin, who had posted bail, sold all his belongings, obtained a false identification and fled Las Vegas.

A nationwide search didn't turn up any signs of the defendant despite the persistent efforts of the victim's father, and the trail had long been cold when Rankin surrendered.

Even being declared one of Las Vegas's 10 most wanted fugitives and spotlighted in an episode on the television crime show "America's Most Wanted" several years ago failed to dislodge him.

Had it not been for his own actions, Rankin might have lived out the rest of his days undetected.

Green said that when Rankin read a passage from the New Testament several months ago at a church he joined, it sparked something within him.

"He said, 'I've got to do the right thing go back and face this,' " Green said.

After jumping bail in 1989, Rankin worked his way to England, where he secured documents that let him find employment and even get married, Green said. But the marriage ended several years ago and there were no other ties.

Although Green said Rankin's decision to surrender came several months ago, he didn't return to Nevada, where his sister still lives, until September.

"He was 25, a wiry kid with a lot of ideas," Green said, recalling his first impression of the defendant after the original charges were filed.

"Now he is much more calm and at peace with himself," the attorney continued. "He found something and it definitely could be this religion."

In court Wednesday, the sandy-haired defendant stood quietly, bound in belly chains and shackles, and politely answered questions from District Judge Kathy Hardcastle.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 13.