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	Former Staffers Doubt Abuse Claims They Testify As Priest on Trial for 1970s Sex Abuse By Alan Gustafson Statesman Journal May 10, 2007 http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/NEWS/705100356/1001 Portland — Had they really been sexually abused by a chaplain in the 1970s, the teenage victims would have told fellow inmates or staff members, three former MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility employees told a jury Wednesday. "There are no secrets in group living situations," said Jim Nanson, 65, who put in 20 years as leader of security at the juvenile facility in Woodburn during the 1970s and later. Ludwig Hitz, 71, who worked at MacLaren from 1967-1998, also cast doubt on the notion that numerous teenage inmates would have remained silent after being sexually abused by a priest. "I think it's preposterous," he said. "Somebody would have heard about it." Another MacLaren veteran, David Vancil, gave a similar assessment to the jury of seven women and five men hearing a sexual abuse case against the Rev. Michael Sprauer. "My experience in 30 years at MacLaren was I've never seen a group of kids keep a secret like that," Vancil said. Testimony from the three former employees, all of whom worked at the juvenile facility in the 1970s and beyond, came as attorneys for Sprauer and the state continued to defend the priest against allegations dating to the '70s. The retired workers testified that they never heard any sexual abuse suspicions, rumors or allegations concerning Sprauer. If they had, they would have informed their bosses or law enforcement, according to their testimony. Sprauer is a priest serving at St. Joseph Church in Salem. He was Catholic chaplain at MacLaren from Oct. 1, 1972, until Jan. 31, 1975, and later worked as a prison chaplain and director of religious services for the Oregon Department of Corrections. Eight men, all former MacLaren inmates, previously testified that they were sexually abused by Sprauer in the 1970s. They individually told the jury that the priest forced them to engage in acts of oral sex and mutual masturbation with him. They described incidents occurring between 1972 and 1978. Two men said they told MacLaren employees about Sprauer abusing them but were met with disbelief and hostility. The others said they remained silent because they were ashamed. According to courtroom testimony, the abuse occurred in segregation cells, Sprauer's office, an auditorium broom closet and a car. The abuse did not happen, according to attorneys for Sprauer and the state. The three plaintiffs in the Portland case are Randy Sloan, 49, of Aumsville; Robert Paul Jr., 49, of Salem; and Norman Klettke Jr., 44, of Portland. Frank Colistro, a forensic psychologist hired by Daniel Gatti, Salem attorney for Sprauer's accusers, earlier told the jury that all three men suffer from delayed post traumatic stress disorder linked to their alleged sexual victimization at MacLaren. Colistro's psychological testing methods came under fire Wednesday from David Corey, a forensic psychologist hired by Sprauer's defense team. "I believe those tests provide an inadequate basis for diagnosing PTSD," Corey said. Contrary to what Colistro previously told the jury, Corey said psychologists are sharply divided on the validity of delayed post traumatic stress disorder, particularly in cases involving decades-old traumas. Sprauer's accusers in the Portland case have said that they buried memories of being sexually abused at MacLaren throughout their troubled adult lives. As they told it, the long-repressed memories flooded back in recent years after they saw newspaper stories about other former MacLaren inmates filing sex-abuse lawsuits against Sprauer. They are asking the jury to award them financial compensation. In all, 15 former MacLaren inmates have sued Sprauer and the state, which employed him at MacLaren. Six lawsuits are pending in Marion County. Contact: agustafs@StatesmanJournal.com
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