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GUNNISON — Two Utah women came together to keep their kidnapper in prison for the rest of his life.
"I want him to know that I'm the one that's in power and in control, and he's not," said Jenny Galvez, who was kidnapped and raped by convicted felon Kevin Blanke in 1997.
Blanke went before the Utah Parole Board Tuesday wearing a white jumpsuit and using a cane to walk. He is currently in prison for his crimes against Galvez, as well as the attempted kidnapping of a child in 2002.
I want him to know that I'm the one that's in power and in control, and he's not.
–Jenny Galvez, rape victim
That child, Isabelle Siwik, is now 16 years old. She also attended Tuesday's hearing.
"I was not going to come because I was too scared to look at him," Siwik said, "but I did."
Blanke apologized for kidnapping Galvez, but when he was asked several times if he had raped her, he replied, "I never pled guilty to that, your honor."
At his first parole hearing in 2006, Blanke said drugs were to blame when he kidnapped Galvez in 1997.
"I would like her to know how the combination of marijuana and meth can cause a person to lose themself and to lose who they really are, and I want her to know how deeply sorry I am that all this happened," Blanke said.
Galvez, who was 15 at the time, says she can't forgive Blanke if he will not own up to what she said he did.
"I was so mad, I wanted to yell out during (the hearing) that he's a liar," she said.
Anger is what prompted Galvez to push for a change in the law that kept prosecutors from going after Blanke for rape. He was sentenced to 1 to 15 years for kidnapping.
Galvez's case led to an increase in the statute of limitations for rape, from four years to eight. It has since changed again, so now there's no time limit.
Isabelle Siwik was also a victim. In 2002, Blanke took the then 6-year-old from a park.
Now 16 years old, the memories still haunt her. "I can honestly say I don't trust a lot of people," Siwik said. "I have a lot of trust issues."
Blanke pleaded guilty to attempted child kidnapping and is serving a sentence of up to life in prison. At his hearing Tuesday, he claimed he had innocent intentions when he took Siwik after seeing the girl alone at a TRAX stop.
Blanke's sister supported him, saying he is a good man who has served enough time in prison.
The sentencing guideline for Blanke's convictions is 96 months, which he's already served. The hearing officer said he believes Blanke raped Galvez and had intentions to sexually assault Siwik.
The officer said he wouldn't consider a release until Blanke received sex offender treatment, and that he will recommend another hearing in 10 years.
