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	Rape Counts against Authority Figures Unsettling By Rod Antone Yakima Herald-Republic December 31, 2007 http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/320577947127284 A church chaperone, a basketball coach, an elementary school teacher and now a longtime karate instructor are behind a rash of high profile child sex assault cases within the past five months. The latest case involves a now 18-year-old woman who said she had a sexual relationship with her instructor at the Yakima School of Karate that started when she was 13 and continued for three to four years. Yakima police said the woman came forward last Wednesday and they are looking into whether there may be more victims. Although Yakima police say they see dozens of child abuse cases every year, most occur within households and among family members. But Sgt. Mike Pollard of Yakima's Special Assault Unit said the difference in these four cases is the suspects were in positions of trust within the community that allowed them access to large groups of potential victims. "They are people who portray themselves as outstanding and trusting people to get these positions," Pollard said. "We've had an inordinate amount of high profile cases," Pollard said. "There's really no explanation for it, it's just timing." Police booked the 44-year-old karate instructor for second- and third-degree child rape on Thursday; he is expected to be arraigned on the charges this week. Officials for Yakima School of Karate were not available Friday for comment, although Pollard said the school was very cooperative during the investigation. Police said the instructor denied the charges against him. According to a police affidavit filed in the case, the karate student said her instructor began fondling her during karate practice at the school's North Seventh Avenue dojo (training center) in 2002. They began to have sex about five or six times a week at the school, sometimes in the office or the back garden area, the affidavit stated. On one occasion when the girl was 14, the instructor took her to his home in Moxee for sex, the affidavit said. On another occasion, he drove her to his workplace on South Third Avenue, where he sodomized her, she told police. According to the affidavit, it was just before the girl's 16th birthday that she "realized what they were doing was wrong," and stopped going to karate practice at the dojo where he taught. Other high profile child rape/molestation cases this year include: * Jerry Ketzenberg, 36, a former volunteer with the Yakima Bible Baptist Church. Ketzenberg was charged in August with multiple counts of child rape and molestation involving two underage girls from his church between 2002 and 2004. Church officials said Ketzenberg was part of a visitation team that picked up children from their homes for church activities in a church bus and his own vehicle. He's since been charged with communicating with a minor involving a third teenage girl stemming from the same time period, Yakima police said. * Randy Sayler, 46, a West Valley youth basketball coach who started several of his own teams and also coached ninth-grade football for West Valley Junior High last year, was charged in September with sexually assaulting three boys who played on his teams. Sayler could also faces federal charges, because some of the alleged incidents took place across state lines while his teams were at tournaments and athletic camps. * Jesus Barcenas, 26, a substitute teacher and former full-time teacher at Wapato's Adams Elementary School, was charged last week with raping a now 12-year-old girl who was in his fifth grade class last school year. An affidavit states that Barcenas kissed and fondled the girl on five or six occasions in his classroom and then began dating the girl's mother and moved in with them. While living there he allegedly had sex with the girl in the house when her mother was not at home the affidavit stated. The Yakima Police Department investigated all four cases, although the Sayler case was eventually handed over to the Yakima County Sheriff's Office because of jurisdiction. Currently Saylor, Barcenas and the karate instructor are being held at the Yakima County Jail special offender housing units. Ketzenberg was released after posting bail in August. Both Saylor and Ketzenberg are scheduled for trial in February. Pollard said with all the media coverage of these cases, it is a good time to remind parents that they should not ignore their instincts when it comes to their children. "People need to know that if they have a gut feeling about someone that they think has an interest in their child that is not normal, they need to act on it," he said. "They need to put an end to any contact that person has with their kids. "They don't have to worry offending someone, because real, trustworthy people won't be offended ... the only person you're going to offend is a suspect in one of these cases because you've just called them out on what they plan to do." * Rod Antone can be reached at rantone@yakimaherald.com or 577-7628.
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