Judge OKs BTK contact with media, author

updated 10:37 p.m. ET July 1, 2005

WICHITA, Kan. - The so-called BTK serial killer will be allowed to receive letters from the media and talk to a woman who is writing a book about his life’s story while in prison, a judge ruled Friday.

Dennis Rader, 60, pleaded guilty Monday to killing 10 people in the Wichita area from 1974 to 1991 to satisfy his sexual fantasies. Sentencing for the former code inspector and church president is set for Aug. 17. He faces life in prison.

After his arrest earlier this year, a judge ordered that Rader’s mail from media outlets be rerouted to his court-appointed attorneys. Rader’s attorneys had argued that their client’s guilty plea made the order no longer necessary.

The attorneys also sought to allow him contact with Kristin Casarona, a Topeka woman who visited Rader in jail about 10 times and plans to write to a book about his life.

BTK — a self-styled moniker for “Bind, Torture, Kill” — taunted media and police with cryptic messages that became increasingly frequent in the months before his capture.

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