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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2004)
BY ALAN PITTMAN ALAN PITTMAN Deputy DA Kent Mortimer and EPD Capt. Steve Swanson 42 Out of 45 EPD will investigate itself on what it did wrong with Magaña. F ormer Eugene Police Officer Roger Magaña was convicted last week on charges of rape, sexual abuse, sodomy, kidnap, coercion and/or harassment in incidents involving a dozen women. Magaña could face the rest of his life in jail at sentencing scheduled for July 13. The jury found Magaña guilty on 42 of 45 counts against him. For five of those convic- tions, the jury found Magaña guilty of a lesser charge than the prosecutor asked for. charged Magaña with abuse, but the police and district attorney decided against pursuing charges in those cases, according to trial testi- mony. Magaña is the second EPD officer con- victed this year of sex crimes. Earlier, Juan Lara plea bargained five years in prison for an apparently smaller sex crime spree while an officer. The two cases have left many wonder- ing whether other officers in the department were complicit in the crimes and/or negligent ‘We certainly bear some responsibility. The only question is how much.’ – Police Chief Robert Lehner The convictions include one rape, 10 charges of sexual abuse, five charges of forced sodomy, four kidnappings, seven charges of coercion, three harassment charges, one bur- glary and 10 charges of official misconduct. Here’s what the jury convicted Magaña of: • Forcing oral sex from a drunk 19-year- old woman he picked up at a softball team party by threatening her with arrest and then later raping her in her home. • Forcing oral sex three times, sexual grop- ing four times and kidnapping once from a then heroin addict by coercing her with threats of arrest and by pointing a gun at her. • Threatening a 31-year-old mother of three with arrest for drunk driving to coerce touching her breasts and vagina. • Entering a 51-year-old woman’s apart- ment to sexually harass and touch her. • Kidnapping and attempting to force oral sex from a prostitute by threatening to arrest her. • Forcing oral sex from a then heroin addict by kidnapping her and threatening her with ar- rest. • Forcing oral sex from a woman by threat- ening her with arrest after the domestic vio- lence victim had called police for help. • Coercing sexual conduct from another domestic violence victim by threatening to have her children taken away. • Harassing a woman by kissing her on the mouth without her consent. • Sexually abusing a drunk college student by having intercourse with her without her consent. • Sexually abusing a 17-year-old police cadet by forcibly rubbing his body and crotch against her. • Failing to arrest a woman with a warrant who he was having oral sex with. A dozen or more additional women also 10 JULY 8, 2004 in hiring, training or supervising the two offi- cers. Despite the Magaña verdict, Deputy District Attorney Kent Mortimore said he’s “proud” of the EPD. “They’re good people.” In past cases of officer misconduct, the district attorney has referred cases to prosecutors from other counties to avoid conflicts of interest. Local prosecutors depend on police to do their job and work closely with them. But in the Magaña and Lara cases, Mortimore said there was no conflict of interest. At a press conference, EPD Capt. Steve Swenson declared that Magaña and Lara’s misconduct was “an anomaly” in the depart- ment. But asked how he knew there were no other officers involved, Swenson acknowl- edged that the department will have to look into it. EPD’s new Chief Robert Lehner said no other officers have been disciplined for failing to respond to repeated complaints about Magaña and Lara or failing to properly super- vise them. Lehner announced that his depart- ment will soon begin an internal review to find out what went wrong and if policies need to be changed or anyone disciplined. But that re- view could take a year or more, according to Lehner. In the meantime multi-million-dollar law- suits against the city by many of the women victims of the two former officers are moving forward. “We certainly bear some responsibility,” Lehner said. “The only question is how much.” Asked if the EPD owes the women its offi- cers sexually abused an apology, Lehner replied, “I don’t know.” But then added, “as a police officer and as a professional, yes, we do owe them an apology.” ew
