Victim pleads with public as release date of man that raped her, other women nears
A rape victim is pleading for help from her community as the prison release date of the man who repeatedly raped her when she was a teenager looms.
"It's a very real possibility that a five-time rapist will be walking the same streets as you," the woman said. "He yanks women off bikes in broad daylight. He's a predator against little girls."
The woman's attacker was her uncle, Cody Woodsen Klemp.
He was convicted of violently raping her in Moreno Valley for over a year when she was just 14 years old, as well as for raping multiple other women.
"Two of the women did not testify because he threatened their lives as well," the woman said. "So, there's two convictions and four rapes before he assaulted me."
For those crimes that he was convicted, Klemp was sentenced to 170 years in prison in Chino.
But after serving just 29 years of that sentence, the California Board of Parole Hearings agreed to release him in Nov. 2023 under the Elderly Parole Program.
The law allows incarcerated people over 50, who have already served 20 consecutive years, to be eligible for parole.
"They said that he put in the work, that he was incredibly empathetic."
Despite Klemp's eligibility for parole, Governor Newsom and Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin took notice, with the governor directing the parole board to reconsider his release.
Now, what's known as an "en banc hearing" is scheduled for March 19, and the victim is pleading with the community to take a stand and prevent her attacker from being freed.
"We need the public to write in, to email," she pleaded. "If you've ever known a victim and felt powerless to help them, this is your chance to help the next woman."
They're hopeful that enough emails and messages from the community will be sent in by Monday, or that people will even call into the hearing on Tuesday morning to oppose Klemp's early release.
"It's surreal that we even have to think about this," said the victim's husband. "This law was to give people a second chance, someone who made a mistake, was caught up in the wrong stuff. Not a five-time offender. Not a person who raped a child."
More information on Klemp's hearing is available here, with ways that you can reach out and join the hearing virtually.
Gov. Newsom issued a statement on the en banc hearing on Wednesday after request from KCAL News.
"I acknowledge that Mr. Klemp has made efforts to improve himself in prison. He has earned his GED, participated in self-help programming, including sexual offending desistence and domestic violence prevention courses, engaged in one-on-one therapy, and maintained employment. I commend him for his efforts in rehabilitation and encourage him to continue on this positive path. However, I find that this case warrants the consideration of the full Board of Parole Hearings to determine whether Mr. Klemp can be safely released at this time.
The evaluating psychologist categorized Mr. Klemp as an average risk of sexual offense reconviction and found that Mr. Klemp demonstrated some insight into his risk factors. However, the psychologist cautioned that Mr. Klemp 'appears to idealize women in a way that may increase his risk if he feels rejected or disappointed by a woman.'
I ask the full Board to determine if Mr. Klemp has sufficiently mitigated his risk factor for sexual offending and developed the skills he will need to maintain healthy relationships in the community should he be released on parole."
