Opponent Says Sex-Abuse Pattern Will Be Revealed
By Alan Gustafson
Statesman Journal
May 3, 2007
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/NEWS/705030324/1001
Portland — The Rev. Michael Sprauer is the innocent victim of a sexual abuse scam, a state attorney told a jury Wednesday.
"It's our position there is a scam. It's our position the plaintiffs are not telling the truth," said William Tharp, a special state assistant attorney general.
Tharp's assertion came during opening statements in the civil trial of a lawsuit against the Salem priest and the state, which employed Sprauer at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in the 1970s.
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| Rev. Michael Sprauer Photo by |
Salem attorney Daniel Gatti, representing three of Sprauer's accusers, described the priest in sinister terms during his opening statement.
Graphic testimony from a series of men will prove that Sprauer sexually preyed on teen-age boys when he was MacLaren's chaplain three decades ago, Gatti said.
"We're talking about oral sodomy, sex with kids from 14 to 17," Gatti said.
| Key ruling Reversing his earlier stance, a judge on Wednesday excluded potential trial testimony related to the Rev. Michael Sprauer's admitted 10-year history of sexual encounters with adult males in public restrooms. Judge Marshall Amiton issued his decision before seating a jury of seven women and five men for the civil trial of a sexual abuse lawsuit against the Salem priest. "It's not the same type of conduct as alleged in this case," Amiton said, explaining his rationale for placing off-limits Sprauer's history of consensual oral sex with men. The civil trial focuses on allegations that Sprauer sexually abused boys at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in the 1970s. |
Gatti's voice broke with emotion several times as he spoke to the 12-member jury, composed of seven women and five men.
"These kids didn't ask for it. It wasn't their fault," he said. "And they didn't conspire. That's what the facts will show."
Sprauer's attorney, Thomas Cooney Sr., said the priest will take the witness stand to defend himself against the allegations.
| Related: Deposition of Robert Paul Deposition of Norman Klettke Deposition of Randy Sloan |
In his opening remarks, Cooney told the jury that Sprauer wasn't employed at MacLaren at the times of the abuse alleged by the three plaintiffs.
Sprauer's three accusers — Robert Paul Jr., Randy Sloan and Norman Klettke Jr. — all have alleged sexual encounters with Sprauer that occurred outside his MacLaren tenure from Oct. 1, 1972 until Jan. 31, 1975, Cooney said.
Cooney also told the jury that trial testimony will refute Sloan's allegation that Sprauer demanded oral sex from him while transporting him to his sister's funeral in July 1975.
A former priest will testify that it was himself, not Sprauer, who transported Sloan, and that no abuse occurred during the trip, Cooney said.
Gatti urged the jury to focus on the overall pattern of Sprauer's predatory behavior, not specific dates for those incidents.
Since mid-2003, more than 15 men have sued Sprauer, alleging that he sexually abused them while he was MacLaren's chaplain. Six other suits are pending in Marion County.
To show a pattern of behavior, Gatti said that at least six men will take the witness stand during the Portland trial to describe how Sprauer forced them to engage in acts of oral sex and mutual masturbation at MacLaren.
Kevin Concannon, 49, a truck driver from Boise, Idaho, was the first witness to tell the jury how he was victimized by Sprauer.
In his Wednesday testimony, Concannon said he grew up in Portland, where he was a Catholic altar boy and an athlete at Grant High School.
He was sent to MacLaren in February 1974 for drug and auto-theft offenses. At that time, he was 16.
Sprauer was assigned to be his counselor, Concannon said. At first, he said, he admired and trusted the priest.
"I was pretty terrified to be there at MacLaren and he seemed to be my only ray of hope," he said.
His trust dissolved, he said, when the priest forced him to engage in oral sex and mutual masturbation during three closed-door counseling sessions in his office.
Concannon said Sprauer threatened to lengthen his sentence or send him to a high-security detention unit if he did not submit to his advances.
Concannon said he did not report the sexual abuse to any MacLaren staff members because he didn't think they would believe him. "Who would believe me over a priest?" he said.
Concannon said he was emotionally devastated by the abuse. "Like there wasn't anything left to live for," he said. "I wanted to die."
Contact: agustafs@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6709
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