The man suspected of being the “Beacon Hill Groper” is being freed on probation, after the victim best able to identify her attacker chose not to testify.

Darin L. Bolar, 42, was sentenced to five months in King County Jail for first degree theft and misdemeanor assault against a man who reportedly witnessed Bolar groping a woman on Rainier Avenue earlier this year. However, the woman refused to testify, and without such testimony, police are unable to link Bolar to any of the 25 sexual assaults that occurred in the Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley areas, beginning in 2006. None of the other victims were able to identify Bolar.

Bolar, a registered Level 1 sex offender, was given credit for the time already served and will be freed on two years’ probation, under condition that he completes a sexual deviancy evaluation and treatment program and stays out of trouble.

The “Beacon Hill Groper” cases involved the assault of 25 ethnically Asian girls and women, typically walking down the street or waiting at bus stops. The attacks became bolder and more aggressive over time, and caused substantial fear among Southeast Seattle residents.

For more, see the coverage at KOMO and the P-I.