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June 14, 2005

Spectacle of case may warp perceptions of sex abuse

Marion County deputy district attorney Courtland Geyer said people who are looking for meaning in the acquittal of Michael Jackson likely will be disappointed.

Geyer, who is the trial-team leader for the county's child-abuse cases, said that the trial should be viewed as being as unusual as the singer himself.

"Michael Jackson, from every standpoint, is not like any other person," he said, "let alone any other defendant. I would expect the public to view (the acquittal) as a celebrity case, which is different on just about every level."

Despite the attention given to the trial by news organizations, Geyer said he does not expect the Jackson verdict to affect local cases, juries or trials.

"I don't anticipate any impact locally," he said. "The Michael Jackson case, even in California, is not typical of most cases. It is impossible to take any rule from a celebrity case."

Geyer said he is worried that people may draw the impression that wealth and celebrity make it easier for the famous to get away with crimes.

"If there is a general reaction, it will be that money will buy you justice," he said. "And if the public takes that away from this, it would be a sad footnote."

A victim's advocate for Marion County thinks juries have a difficult time convicting someone they think they know.

"I think the citizens in this country are not going to convict a cultural icon," said Mona St. Clair of the Marion County District Attorney's Office Victim Assistance division.

St. Clair said that whether a case involves a celebrity or not, it is difficult for victims to confront their abuser.

"I hope (the acquittal) doesn't prevent victims from coming forward," she said. "I don't think it will prevent children, but I hope it doesn't keep their parents from supporting their kids in a case."

St. Clair said she hopes the jury got the verdict right.

"I hope (Jackson) is innocent," she said. "But it is a very, very rare thing that a child discloses those things untruthfully."

Kathie Beach, a volunteer coordinator with Victim Assistance, agreed.

"Kids just don't lie about that," Beach said. "I hope the acquittal won't have an impact on victims of abuse, but the case has been in the news so much. I think there will be a voice in kids' heads telling them to fear that nobody will believe them."

Denise Washington, executive director of the Oregon Coalition against Domestic Sexual Violence, said she worries that the case will discourage abuse victims from coming forward, particularly if the abuser is someone in a position of power.

"You can look at how long it takes survivors to come forward and there is always the thought: Am I going to be believed?" she said. "Kobe Bryant's accuser was vilified by people, and yes, that was a spectacle, too, but it creates a chilling climate for the victim."

In the past year alone, a teacher and a former sheriff's deputy have been accused and convicted of sex crimes against children in Polk and Marion counties.

If there is a moral to the Jackson trial, Washington said, it is that parents should be cautious about allowing their children to spend time with other adults.

"There is still a lot of education that needs to happen for the general public and families to understand what childhood sex abuse looks like," she said. "Except for the Jackson case, they are people like you. People want to think it is that other person, someone jumping out of the bushes or a boogeyman."

Posted by Nealus at June 14, 2005 12:13 PM

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