Woman Is Convicted Of Rape

SPOKANE - The first woman in Spokane County to be convicted of raping a man could face up to 30 years in prison.

A seven-woman, five-man Superior Court jury on Friday found Theresa Spickler-Bowe guilty of first-degree rape and second-degree assault.

Spickler-Bowe, 36, was accused of torturing the 42-year-old man at her Spokane apartment from September 1996 until last January. The victim was punched, chained, burned, raped and threatened with a steak knife. He finally talked to police on Jan. 17.

The man's longtime companion, Eunice Eickhoff, pleaded guilty earlier this month to participating in the abuse. During the trial, she testified against Spickler-Bowe, naming her as the instigator.

The two women will be sentenced in August. Prosecutors say they plan to ask Judge Greg Sypolt to sentence Spickler-Bowe to 30 years in prison, triple the usual term.