By Paul Daquilante • Staff Writer • 

Bench trial resumes following guilty verdict

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Comments

whoami

Sadly when this man gets out of prison he will continue to be a danger to his own grandchildren and all children of those who continue to be in denial of his guilt.

Christmas has Talons

I don't know anyone in this case not the person who is said to be the victim nor the person said to be the abuser but what I do know is that this man could likely be innocent based on the court testimony I heard. For me there is a heaviness about this decision because of the lack of consistent testimony. We all want to believe kids but the fact is that humans who have been hurt, hurt humans. Children in the foster system have been hurt already, they have knowledge often times of horrible things that other children have no knowledge of and most of all they want to go back to their parents no matter how bad their home life was. I pray this man was guilty because if he wasn't another family has been destroyed and there is nothing more unjust than that.

Joel

Paul, I assume you have been their in the court room. Just wondering...is their evidence that the prosecution has presented other than the testimony of the young women? From the sound of these articles it was a she said/ he said thing. Sounds like the young women said he did it and he said he didn't... and the majority of the jury believed the young women. Is that correct or is their other corroborating evidence taht led to the conviction?

David S. Wall

My opinion, expressed here today, is not a treatise on child sexual abuse nor is my opinion reflective in any way concerning any and all particulars of the aforementioned case.

I just have a couple of general questions.

I am gut-wrenchingly concerned as to the state of the Foster Child system in Oregon and children testimony concerning alleged sexual abuse.

To her credit, Commissioner Starrett has championed reform of the Foster Care system in Oregon but, in my opinion has gone about the wrong way.

Modernly, children are far more sophisticated in "worldly ways" than I ever was growing up. Technology in "Smart phones" and use of the "internet" applied to "street smarts" accelerates a child's education in many ways.

Some of these ways are criminal and could be enabled and facilitated by an adult(s) for perpetrating crimes using the criminal justice system.

One horrific deviance from the "accelerated education" is characterized in the following hypothetical;

"Can a child premeditate and concoct a claim of sexual misconduct that appears truthful but in fact is untruthful; where the adult so falsely accused is presumed "guilty" and cast into the judicial system?" And at sometime in the future, after a conviction and the exhaustion of appeals; initiate a premeditated and or orchestrated civil cause of action for personal injury(s) with demand for monetary damages flowing from a false accusation and conviction?

I assert such a hypothetical could occur and could be a reason why the "Child Foster Care" program in Oregon is in trouble-no one wants to incur this liability. The same argument has many variations. Locally, could it the reason for a shortage of "School Bus Drivers?"

This gives new meaning to, "The Boy or Girl or 'It' who cries Wolf!" For they have become the de facto "wolves" and no one can see them until it is too late.

David S. Wall

Cmac

I think hypothetical arm chair commenting isn't helpful in these kind of situations. If you've never faced abuse you shouldn't weigh in on your understanding of the trial as read in the newspaper. Where commenters viewed this as a "he said" "she said" situation, I saw many things in the printed paper that brought doubt to the defense's case. The most glaring was that there was more than one victim with the same story.

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