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	Abuse Charges Dropped By Jane Gargas and Mark Morey Yakima Herald-Republic January 28, 2010 http://www.yakima-herald.com/stories/2010/01/28/abuse-charges-dropped YAKIMA, Wash. -- All charges have been dismissed against a Selah man who was arrested in November 2008 on suspicion of sexually abusing several children. Four counts of child molestation and two counts of child rape were dropped Jan. 14 against Bryce Record, 23, in Yakima County Superior Court. Two years ago, Record was arrested and charged with abusing five children -- four girls and a boy -- from two different families in separate incidents in the Selah area, beginning in 2001 and lasting until 2008. The children ranged in age from 3 to 9 at the time. Record was attending college in Spokane when he was arrested. County Prosecutor Jim Hagarty said prosecutors felt that the initial evidence warranted charges against Record. But further investigation revealed problems with some of the children's statements and whether they would be admissible under state law, he said. Potential evidence that would have absolved Record also came to light, Hagarty said. Citing concerns over the impact to the victims and their families, Hagarty declined to be more specific. Record's attorney, Bryan Whitaker of Spokane, contacted by telephone, was adamant that there was no evidence to justify a case against his client. "In a nutshell, there was nothing to corroborate. Bryce definitely did not get off on a technicality. The evidence was not there." In Whitaker's view, the children involved in the case were encouraged to make the allegations. Whitaker said that two of the charges against Record, alleged to have occurred in Selah, happened at a time when Record was attending class in Spokane. "I never for a moment doubted Bryce's innocence," Whitaker said. It was the kind of case, he added, that justifies what a criminal defense attorney does. "When you're asked, 'Why do you defend people you think might be guilty?' You say, 'Because you want to get so good at it that when someone like Bryce comes along, who you know is innocent, you can get the right outcome for him.'" Without responding directly to Whitaker's claims, Hagarty noted that child abuse cases are routinely difficult to prosecute. Once prosecutors determined that the evidence was insufficient to win a conviction, they moved to dismiss the case, he said. When Record was arrested, officials at the Yakima Reach Youth Ministry in Cowiche conducted their own investigation of whether Record had inappropriate contact with minors during his nine months of service as a youth volunteer in 2005-06. The nonprofit, evangelistic program sends teams of volunteers around the Northwest to lead retreats for teens and youth. None of the alleged victims were connected to the Reach ministry, according to the Yakima County Sheriff's Office. But the allegations had ministry officials worried and put Record under suspicion. No incidents of abuse were reported during his tenure, said Dan Bartleson, Reach executive director. Contacted Tuesday, Bartleson expressed relief for Record that the charges had been dismissed. "Not really knowing what happened, I just hope for whoever may have been injured in this that there's resolution and healing." Mark Morey can be reached at 509-577-7671 or mmorey@yakimaherald.com
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