2A • March 2, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Surf Pines ‘peeping Tom’
gets more than 35 years
Cazee convicted
of 23 charges in
January
By Jack Heffernan
The Daily Astorian
A Surf Pines man was sen-
tenced to more than 35 years in
prison after his conviction on
charges stemming from several
“peeping Tom” incidents in his
neighborhood.
Kirk Richard Cazee, 56,
peered through bedroom win-
dows and recorded videos of
residents during private mo-
ments, a jury found after a
four-day trial in January. He
was convicted on six counts
of using a child in a display of
sexual conduct, eight counts of
invasion of personal privacy,
five counts of stalking and four
counts of criminal trespass.
The Clatsop County Sher-
iff’s Office had been investi-
gating a potential prowler in
the Surf Pines area, based on
numerous complaints from
residents, for more than a year
leading up to Cazee’s first ar-
rest in February 2017. After
his release from jail on those
charges, he was arrested again
in April following further in-
vestigation by the sheriff’s of-
fice. He has been held in jail on
$2 million bail.
The crimes involved sev-
eral young women — some of
whom were under 18 years old
— and one man. Authorities
found several videos in Cazee’s
possession that displayed the
victims in states of nudity and,
sometimes, performing sexual
acts. The videos also picked up
audio of Cazee whispering sex-
ually explicit language and zip-
pers being undone. Deputies
found during Cazee’s arrest
that he was carrying a pair of
binoculars and some toilet pa-
per, which Deputy District At-
torney Ron Brown called one
of the case’s “smoking guns.”
Around 10 p.m. the night
of his first arrest, sheriff’s dep-
uties found
Cazee walk-
ing in the
area without
a flashlight
minutes after
yet another
Kirk Richard
complaint of
Cazee
a man search-
ing through
windows. Authorities also
found that Cazee, a surgical
nurse in Portland at the time,
had stolen mail from one of the
victims and kept it at his Port-
land mobile home.
One of the victims, due to
repeated suspicions of some-
one prowling outside her
home, placed a surveillance
camera outside her residence
in early 2017.
“I felt like I was losing my
mind,” she said.
Victims speak out
In one of the videos, the
man was wearing a camouflage
jacket that appeared identical
to the one Cazee wore when he
was arrested.
Nearly all of the victims
— and a few family mem-
bers — spoke at the sentenc-
ing hearing. Common themes
surfaced in their statements:
anger, lack of sleep, weariness
of surroundings at home, lost
feelings of privacy and keeping
weapons nearby as they sleep
at night.
“This violation was not
physical, but it was more dif-
ficult than I ever could have
imagined. How could you
know a year after a trauma like
how much of a toll it will have
on your life?” one victim said.
“To put it freely, the thought of
Mr. Cazee walking around in
public, whether now or 30 years
from now, makes me want to
crawl out of my own skin.”
Two other young women
detailed how their lack of sleep
has affected their performance
at school. One dropped out of
high school her senior year,
while another— a college stu-
dent — said she went from
‘Shame on you. Shame on you for
doing this to my granddaughter
and to all the other girls. It’s
so sick. It’s really sick.’
One of the victim’s grandmothers
earning a 4.0 GPA to a 0.86
GPA.
“I will definitely not be the
same person I was before,” one
victim said. “It has made my
anxiety worse, my depression
worse. I’m afraid to get out
of my car in the driveway and
walk in the front door at night.”
Another victim described
how she has been having a dif-
ficult time being intimate with
her boyfriend out of fear that
someone is watching. Some
said they almost panic when
they encounter someone who
looks like Cazee.
“It wasn’t just my anxiety
or somebody playing tricks
on me. Someone was actually
outside my window,” a victim
said. “If he didn’t get caught,
what would’ve happened?”
For the parents and guard-
ians of the victims, feelings
of an inability to protect their
children were pervasive. Some
exuded their anger at Cazee,
even asking him to look at
them during their remarks and
calling his facial expression
“smug.”
One of the victim’s grand-
mothers said she and her hus-
band moved to Surf Pines with
their granddaughters because
they heard the community
was safe. They often left their
blinds up and curtains open.
“Shame on you. Shame on
you for doing this to my grand-
daughter and to all the other
girls,” she said. “It’s so sick.
It’s really sick.”
During the January trial,
Cazee’s wife and son testified
that he often went for walks by
himself late at night. They also
spoke Friday.
“I love you and I will al-
ways love you, but I am deeply
hurt and confused by your ac-
tions,” his son said. “You’ve
OREGON STATE POLICE
A program to reward people who report poaching had a
successful year in 2017.
stayed my personal Superman
until you were arrested.”
Poachers beware
Peering through
windows
Informant
campaign had
banner year
Cazee admitted to peering
through windows in a psy-
chosexual evaluation released
minutes before the sentencing
hearing. The evaluation, and
several comments by lawyers
in the hearing, revealed that
Cazee is likely to face sev-
eral other charges from the
U.S. Department of Justice.
He apologized to the victims
during the hearing.
“I had absolutely no idea
of the impact of my actions
before. I do now,” Cazee said.
“I feel like some think that I
have no remorse, but that is not
true. I would deeply apologize
to anyone who feels like a vic-
tim.”
Soon before sentencing
Cazee, Judge Dawn McIntosh
said the psychosexual evalua-
tion described a longstanding
problem that he failed to ad-
dress.
“The work that the sheriff’s
office did in this case is what
got you,” the judge said. “I
don’t think you cared. I don’t
think you thought about any-
body but yourself when you
were doing this. I think you’re
a dangerous man. I don’t think
you’re likely to change your
spots.”
McIntosh
commended
the “articulate,” “strong” and
“heartfelt” words of the vic-
tims.
“I hope you were listening
because I certainly was,” she
told Cazee. “You see words
like ‘invasion of personal pri-
vacy’ and you don’t think off
the bat about the damage that
is done.”
By Jack Heffernan
The Daily Astorian
A statewide campaign
that encourages people to
inform on poachers just had
the most robust year in its
32-year history.
The Turn in Poachers
fund — a collaboration be-
tween the Oregon Hunters
Association, Oregon State
Police and state Department
of Fish and Wildlife — re-
warded $24,200 in 50 cases
last year. That’s more than
double the average amount,
according to the hunter’s
association. The number of
cases typically ranges from
20 to 35 in a given year.
Clatsop County had one
reward case in 2017. An in-
formant received $500 for
information about an elk
shot in an area where hunt-
ing is not allowed. Poaching
issues in the county mainly
center on Roosevelt Elk and
blacktail deer, since those
animals are the most pop-
ular big game for hunters,
said Sgt. Joe Warwick of the
state police’s fish and wild-
life division.
The Albany area had the
highest number of rewards
at 11.
Pinpointing why hunters
report more or fewer poach-
ing cases can be difficult.
Not all poaching convictions
are a result of tips, and not all
informants accept rewards.
“We don’t know much
about the informants,” Dun-
gannon said. “They give the
tip, we write the check and
we send it to them.”
Dungannon suggests re-
cent raises in reward money
may be a factor in last year’s
spike. Standard amounts
range from $100 for game
fish, shellfish, upland birds,
waterfowl and fur-bearers
to $1,000 for bighorn sheep,
mountain goats and moose.
Dungannon also pointed
to the state police’s efforts
to advertise the program on
social media and in local
publications.
“There are things that
officers can do to take the
game to the next level and
get the word out to the com-
munity,” Dungannon said.
Nearly all of the fund’s fi-
nancial support comes from
courts ordering those con-
victed of violations to pay
restitution. The hunter’s as-
sociation and other conser-
vation groups also pitch in
when unusually large award
amounts are requested.
A bill pending in the
state Legislature may help
on that front. While judg-
es already impose fines for
misdemeanor offenses, the
bill would lay out a prece-
dent to impose such fines in
addition to any jail or prison
sentence. It also would give
the state the ability to deny
licenses, tags and permits if
fines are not repaid.
“This removes any doubt
from the court that they’re
able to assess the restitution
to the state and to the TIP
fund,” Dungannon said.
POLICE LOG
Feb. 14
1:37 a.m., Megler Bridge: Police
assist Astoria police with a DUII.
10:27 a.m., 400 block S. Holla-
day: Disorderly conduct in the
second degree is reported.
10:32 a.m., Quatat Park: A cos-
metic bag filled with used and
unused syringes is found. Police
dispose of them.
12:20 p.m., 8900 block
Rochelle Road: Police assist
deputies and Gearhart police
with an intoxicated subject.
Feb. 15
10:29 a.m., 300 block S.
Wahanna: A rape in the third
degree is reported. Subject is
also arrested and charged with
sexual abuse in the second
degree and contributing to the
delinquency of a minor.
8:05 p.m., 2100 block Lewis
and Clark Road: A person is
charged with child neglect in
the second degree.
Feb. 16
2:24 a.m., 2300 block N. Roos-
evelt: Minors said to be throwing
rocks at streetlights admit they’ve
been throwing rocks. They are
advised of the complaint.
6:26 a.m., 400 block Second
Avenue: Police respond to an
alarm company’s report. They
say doors are secure and a
large spider web over the door
would indicate no one had
entered the house in a while.
SUPPORT FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS
Feb. 19
9:19 a.m., Quatat Park: Police
respond to a report of a boat
docked at Quatat Park filling
with water from snow and rain.
The owner of the boat was
contacted through the boat’s
registration.
Feb. 17
11:30 a.m., Police headquar-
ters: A person came in for their
annual sex offender registration.
2:12 p.m., 1900 block N. Wah-
anna: A motor vehicle accident
with injuries was reported.
7:25 p.m., Avenue A and The
Prom: A person arrested and
charged with driving under
the influence is also charged
with vehicular hit and run.
Property damage only.
Feb. 20
Feb. 18
7:51 p.m., Avenue U: A rob-
bery is reported.
6:21 a.m., 2400 block Highway
101: A disturbance, verbal in
nature only, was reported.
7:48 p.m., 500 block Avenue I:
A runaway is reported.
10:32 a.m., Police headquar-
ters: A person came in to
register as a sex offender.
Feb. 21
11:33 a.m., 400 block S. Roo-
sevelt: Caller reports a drug
deal occurring between two
vehicles. Officers responding
are unable to locate.
1:05 p.m., Turnaround: Police
respond to a report of multiple
people standing on a log be-
ing moved by incoming tide.
Police advise the people of the
danger and ask public works to
remove the log.
2:58 p.m., 300 block S. Wahan-
na: Harassment is reported.
11:24 p.m., 2100 block S.
Franklin: A person is charged
with disorderly conduct in the
second degree before being
transported to detox.
6:24 p.m., 400 block S. Roo-
sevelt: Caller reports a drug
deal going down between two
businesses. Officers respond-
ing are unable to locate.
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