2A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2016
Former chiropractor sentenced
for sexually abusing patients
Quakes ‘the heartbeat’
of Mount St. Helens
tell scientists the process of
magma moving into the vol-
cano is continuing, driv-
ing off fl uids and gases that
fi ll cracks beneath the sur-
face and inducing the small
quakes.
“It is not an indicator of an
imminent eruption,” Thelen
said . “Just a simple reminder
that things are still active
down there and that Mount
St. Helens will erupt again. It
is not imminent.”
Westby said the quakes
indicate Mount St. Helens is
subtly repressurizing, but lit-
tle more.
“We’re hearing the heart-
beat of Mount St. Helens here
through these earthquakes,”
she said.
They’d worry if they
detected this again, saw
abnormal ground uplift or
movement and found changes
in volcanic gases .
“We would need to see
many more signals that would
indicate any kind of concern
on our part,” she said.
The recent seismic activity
alone is simply more data that
lends welcome insight into
the temperament of a volcano.
Mount St. Helens has
proven — even if it was 36
years ago — it’s capable of
blowing its top with the best
of them.
“The more earthquakes
we record,” Thelen said, “the
more we understand about the
volcano.”
No signs of
imminent
eruption
KOIN 6 News
VANCOUVER, Wash.
— More than 120 tiny earth-
quakes have taken place
during a seven -day period
recently beneath Mount St.
Helens, but the U.S. Geo-
logical Survey said there
are no signs of an imminent
eruption.
Beginning Nov. 21, the
USGS said, four swarms of
small quakes were detected.
The tiny earthquakes were
mostly too small — mag-
nitude 0.3 or less — to be
exactly located by the Pacifi c
Northwest Seismic Network
or even felt on the surface.
Geologist Liz Westby with
the Cascades Volcano Obser-
vatory in Vancouver said the
earthquakes occurred 1 to 2
miles down. They’re noth-
ing of concern but more than
enough to generate excite-
ment for those monitoring the
active volcano.
“We’re just simply fas-
cinated by what’s going on
because we learn so much
more about what’s going on
beneath Mount St. Helens and
what this all means,” Westby
said.
Seismologist
Weston
Thelen said earthquakes
Lopez abused a
dozen patients
By EDWARD STRATTON
The Daily Astorian
Adam Lopez, a former
chiropractor convicted in
November of sexually abus-
ing four patients, was sen-
tenced Monday to 180 days in
jail and fi ve years of probation
by Circuit Court Judge Philip
Nelson.
Eighty of those days are
guaranteed jail time, with 100
eligible for alternative incar-
ceration such as community
service. Lopez will also regis-
ter as a sex offender for life,
undergo treatment, have no
contact with the victims and
not be allowed to work as a
chiropractor or in any position
that involves direct physical
contact with women.
Lopez, who has not
acknowledged any crimes
in the current case, already
pleaded guilty in 2014 to sex-
ually harassing eight female
patients during appointments
dating back to 2009. He was
sentenced to one year of jail
and is still on probation.
Victims testify
The sentencing Monday
was emotionally charged, with
Lopez’s family and support-
ers on one side of courtroom,
FIVE-DAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA
TONIGHT
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
50
38
35
Mostly cloudy
Tillamook
33/51
Partly sunny
New
Salem
28/41
Newport
36/49
Dec 28
Coos Bay
34/53
Full
Jan 5
Jan 12
The Daily Astorian
Ontario
5/20
Bend
12/34
Burns
3/27
Klamath Falls
17/35
Lakeview
9/33
Ashland
27/44
TOMORROW'S TIDES
Astoria / Port Docks
Time
12:35 a.m.
1:38 p.m.
Low
1.6 ft.
2.6 ft.
REGIONAL CITIES
City
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Eugene
Ilwaco
Klamath Falls
Medford
Newberg
Newport
North Bend
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Vancouver
Yakima
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TOMORROW'S NATIONAL WEATHER
NATIONAL CITIES
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
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PACKAGE DEALS
APPLIANCE
AND HOME
FURNISHINGS
529 SE MARLIN, WARRENTON
503-861-0929
O VER
Mattresses, Furniture
3 A 0
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TSOP
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are looking to
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the expense of
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We have big
U.S. Sen.
Jeff Merkley battles in front
of us, and I’m
ready to fi ght for our vision of
a ‘We the People’ nation.
“I’m also looking for-
ward to serving on the For-
eign Relations Committee at
a time of substantial interna-
tional upheaval and national
security concerns,” the sena-
tor said. “Some of the biggest
PUBLIC MEETINGS
Station, 33496 West Lake Lane,
Warrenton.
Clatsop County Human
Services Advisory Council, 4
to 5:30 p.m., 800 Exchange St.,
Room 430.
Cannon Beach Public Works
Committee, 9 a.m., City Hall,
163 E. Gower St.
WEDNESDAY
Seaside Tourism Advisory
Committee, 4:30 p.m., City Hall,
989 Broadway.
challenges we face as Ameri-
cans are international, like cli-
mate change, violent extrem-
ism, and globalization, and
require global cooperation.
We can’t give all Americans
the opportunities they deserve
without a strong, thoughtful
foreign policy.”
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OBITUARY POLICY
APPLIANCE
YE
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley has
been appointed chief deputy
whip for Senate Democrats, a
post on the party’s leadership
team.
The Oregon Democrat also
announced that he will serve
on the Senate Foreign Rela-
tions Committee when Con-
gress convenes in January.
“I am honored to join the
leadership team and help carry
the fi ght for good living wage
jobs, a secure retirement, and
opportunity for all Americans,”
Merkley said in a statement.
“Now, more than ever, billion-
TUESDAY
Ecola Creek Watershed Coun-
cil, 4:30 p.m., City Hall, 163 E.
Gower St., Cannon Beach.
Sunset Empire Park and Rec
District, 4 p.m., 1225 Ave. A,
Seaside.
Astoria Historic Landmarks
Commission, 5:15 p.m., City
Hall, 1095 Duane St.
Port of Astoria Commission,
6 p.m., Port offi ces, 10 Pier 1,
Suite 209.
Shoreline Sanitary District
Board, 7 p.m., Gearhart Hertig
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy,
sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries,
sn-snow, i-ice.
IN
Lopez declined to com-
ment in court, submitting a
letter before the hearing ask-
ing for a lesser sentence.
“I have been released from
jail for the last 20 months and
have not had any (incidents)
for concern with the authori-
ties, nor do I feel that I am a
threat to the community,” he
said in the letter.
Lopez asked to be regis-
tered as a sex offender only
while on probation. He also
asked that in lieu of jail time,
he be allowed to do commu-
No empathy
Lopez faced up to a year
in jail for each of his seven
counts of sexual abuse, all
class A misdemeanors. During
sentencing, Nelson said he has
seen many divisive cases, and
knows people on both sides of
Lopez’s case. But he said six
jurors had put considerable
effort into reaching their ver-
dict last month.
“As I read Lopez’s letter,
it strikes me that he doesn’t
show any empathy to the four
victims,” Nelson said, admon-
ishing the defendant for not
apologizing.
“I just don’t think you get
it at all that what you did was
horrible,” Nelson said.
Steven Sherlag, Lopez’s
lawyer, asked that Lopez’s
seven counts be condensed
to four — one for each vic-
tim, instead of those based
on different alleged incidents.
Brown combined the last two
of Lopez’s seven counts.
Nelson gave the prose-
cution 60 days to create the
terms of fi nancial resolu-
tion for counseling and other
expenses related to Lopez’s
actions. Lopez has 30 days to
appeal his conviction.
“It’s time to start serv-
ing that sentence,” Nelson
said, remanding Lopez to jail
immediately.
After Nelson left, Lopez
was handcuffed in front of his
family and led to the jail.
Brown said he understood
why Nelson gave Lopez much
less than the year in jail he
could have received on each
count of sexual abuse.
“He didn’t do that because
we don’t have enough space,”
Brown said, adding prosecu-
tors always have to keep the
jail’s matrix — a point system
used to release less danger-
ous inmates to alleviate over-
crowding — in mind when
seeking sentences.
Brown prosecuted a similar
case against Donald Hughes, a
masseuse at the Cannery Pier
Hotel sentenced in July to 120
days in jail and fi ve years pro-
bation for sexually abusing a
client. His abuse was also a
misdemeanor.
“It’s just really a shame the
(Oregon) Legislature doesn’t
create a felony for being
abused by a professional,” he
said, adding medical profes-
sionals operate based on trust.
“The only way someone can
go to prison on something
like this is if there was force
involved.
“If you’re awake and the
doctor or masseuse or who-
ever gropes you, it’s just a
misdemeanor.”
Merkley chosen for Senate leadership post
Baker
2/17
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016
Source: Jim Todd, OMSI
Hi
54
33
30
49
42
27
61
5
81
32
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John Day
16/36
Lopez, friends,
family testify
nity service part of the week
and work the other part to help
cover his expenses, having
lost his chiropractor’s license,
along with multiple commer-
cial and rental properties. He
had already violated his pro-
bation by failing to pay $5,000
in restitution to each of his
eight previous victims.
Lopez’s two children and
a friend from the Astoria First
Assembly of God testifi ed
about Lopez’s character and
the impact the charges have
had on he and his family.
His daughter, Pilar, said
community service would bet-
ter serve her father, who had
apologized to his family for
the trouble the case has caused
them. That led Deputy District
Attorney Ron Brown, lead
prosecutor for the state, to ask
what her father had said about
his charges.
“He doesn’t believe he
did it,” she replied, adding
her father told her he never
would have done anything
intentionally.
“I see no threat to the com-
munity from my father,” his
son Adan said. “I feel like
community service would be
more useful.”
La Grande
13/31
Roseburg
31/42
Brookings
40/57
Tonight's Sky: Orion's belt stands almost straight up
from the horizon.
Today
Lo
34
28
18
27
23
14
42
2
69
18
23
37
51
30
70
26
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Lebanon
27/41
Medford
28/45
UNDER THE SKY
High
8.4 ft.
6.7 ft.
Prineville
9/34
Eugene
28/38
First
Pendleton
22/36
The Dalles
25/32
Portland
31/45
Sunset tonight ........................... 4:32 p.m.
Sunrise Wednesday .................... 7:55 a.m.
Moonrise today .................................. none
Moonset today ......................... 12:19 p.m.
City
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Honolulu
Indianapolis
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Memphis
Miami
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Oklahoma City
Philadelphia
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington, DC
45
34
Mostly cloudy with a
little rain
Rain and drizzle
SUN AND MOON
Time
7:14 a.m.
7:25 p.m.
46
36
Shown is tomorrow's weather. Temperatures are tonight's lows and tomorrow's highs.
ASTORIA
35/50
Precipitation
Monday ............................................ 1.98"
Month to date ................................... 7.58"
Normal month to date ....................... 6.15"
Year to date .................................... 84.08"
Normal year to date ........................ 63.77"
Dec 20
SATURDAY
REGIONAL WEATHER
Astoria through Monday.
Temperatures
High/low ....................................... 55°/37°
Normal high/low ........................... 48°/36°
Record high ............................ 61° in 1981
Record low ............................. 17° in 1924
Last
50
38
Partly sunny
ALMANAC
FRIDAY
and the vic-
tims, family,
friends and
members of
the District
A t t o r n e y ’s
O ffi ce on the
other.
All four
Adam Lopez
victims testi-
fi ed about the damage Lopez’s
actions have had on their lives.
“He humiliated me,” one
victim said, crying as she
spoke through a translator
about how Lopez’s actions had
caused harm to her family and
her psychological well-being.
Another, also stopping to
cry while speaking, said she
has had to remember that day
in Lopez’s offi ce for years. “I
am here for closure,” she said,
thanking the District Attor-
ney’s O ffi ce for prosecuting.
One
victim
directly
addressed Lopez. She admon-
ished him for claiming to be
a good Christian while not
acknowledging what he did.
Lopez looked back at her as
she spoke.
“I’m glad you’re look-
ing at me, because you’re a
liar,” she said, adding that
God would judge him if he did
not acknowledge his crimes,
repent, and turn against his
evil ways.
& More!
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