2A • August 3, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com
Sex abuse trial delayed following Facebook posts
Gustafson was
indicted in 2015
By Jack Heffernan
The Daily Astorian
A sex abuse trial involv-
ing a former surgeon has been
delayed due to two Facebook
posts in which the victim’s
mother discussed the case.
Robert John Gustafson, 49, of
North Dakota, was accused
in 2015 of sexually abusing
a girl over a two-year period
while he lived in Seaside. He
was indicted on 10 counts of
first-degree sex abuse and two
counts of first-degree encour-
aging child sex abuse. The in-
dictment alleged he repeatedly
touched a girl under 14 and had
her touch him between 2009
and 2011.
He posted $250,000 bail
and was released from jail.
Over the past three years, a
host of factors delayed and
complicated the case. The
lengthy proceedings were
mentioned in the woman’s
Facebook posts.
“I hate the justice system,”
the woman wrote in the first
Robert John Gustafson
post in early July. “I hate that
we’ve waited for a trial for
over three years. I hate that the
victim will be on the stand and
called a liar.”
The Clatsop County Dis-
trict Attorney’s Office learned
of the posts last week and no-
tified Paul Hood, Gustafson’s
Portland-based attorney, and
Circuit Court Judge Cindee
Matyas. Deputy District At-
torney Ron Brown, the lead
prosecutor, said he advised
the woman — who has since
removed the posts from public
view — to stop posting about
the case on social media.
“We can’t forbid people to
use social media, but we can
try to warn about the perils of
social media,” Brown said.
At a hearing Tuesday, Hood
largely focused on another
one of the woman’s posts in
July. The woman posted a
news story about the case and
complained that Gustafson is
still out of jail despite a 2015
drunken-driving arrest, a vio-
lation of his release agreement.
“If you would like to fill
the stands with your support,
or peacefully protest outside,
I would welcome your com-
pany. While I know the entire
trial will be spent with the de-
fense trying to discredit me and
my child, I know people who
care about us will see through
the mess,” she wrote. “Fingers
crossed the jury will too.”
Hood accused the woman
of trying to “poison the jury
pool” and inciting violence
against Gustafson. “I think she
hopes someone will assault or
kill (Gustafson),” he said. “I
say that and I mean it.”
Hood told Matyas he would
need more time to investigate
how widely the posts were
viewed and survey the hun-
dreds of comments they at-
tracted. Brown did not object.
‘WE CAN’T
FORBID PEOPLE
TO USE SOCIAL
MEDIA, BUT
WE CAN TRY TO
WARN ABOUT
THE PERILS OF
SOCIAL MEDIA.’
Deputy District Attorney
Ron Brown
The estimated five-day trial,
which had been set to begin
July 31, has been rescheduled
for December.
“I’m willing to grant a set
over, but it’s been really dif-
ficult to schedule this case,”
Matyas said.
Since the case began, law-
yers have filed a number of
motions, many of which asked
for a continuation due to sched-
uling conflicts. Other motions
centered on pieces of evidence
that surfaced as information
was shared between police in
North Dakota — where the
abuse was reported — and
Seaside — where the abuse al-
legedly occurred.
Seaside Police Sgt. Jason
Goodding was investigating
the case before he was shot
and killed in the line of duty in
2016. Goodding was a witness
who would have provided key
details about two child pornog-
raphy charges, according to
court documents. Brown filed
a new indictment last year,
and those two charges were
dropped.
Earlier this month, follow-
ing a number of lengthy hear-
ings in which a host of witness-
es were called, Matyas denied
part and granted part of a mo-
tion to exclude evidence re-
garding Gustafson’s past sexu-
al tendencies, including incest
stories found on his computer
and alleged possession of child
pornography.
The Facebook posts began
one day after the judge’s rul-
ings.
“All evidence is not al-
lowed. Try wrapping your
head around that one,” part of
the post read.
In addition to other com-
plaints about the justice sys-
tem, the woman lamented
the fact Gustafson was able
to hire an attorney while the
victim could not choose the
prosecutor.
“We tell our daughters to
speak up, but what we don’t tell
them — there will be men be-
ing paid to fight the truth, those
evil lawyers will call your baby
girl a liar,” she wrote. “You, on
the other hand, get a court-ap-
pointed attorney, overworked
and underpaid. You have no
choice in who represents you.
Because it’s not actually you
against the pervert, it’s the state
against the pervert.”
After reviewing the Face-
book posts over the next few
months, Hood may file a mo-
tion to move the case out of
Clatsop County, he said. “It is
a terrible situation that has de-
veloped here.”
In the first post, the woman
said she didn’t want to discour-
age people from reporting sex
abuse but noted that court pro-
ceedings “will rip and tear at
you for a long time.”
“And I don’t know that any-
one ever ‘wins,’” she wrote.
“But as the trial date approach-
es, the fear creeps in. How
many more safe days do we
have? And will my daughter’s
fight for justice be in vain?”
‘Tragic confrontation’ in Seaside
Shooting from Page 1A
Davidson and Officer Jess
Vaughan, who was at the scene
with Davidson but did not fire
any shots, have been placed
on paid administrative leave,
which is standard practice.
An autopsy on Case was
conducted by the Oregon State
Medical Examiner’s Office,
Brown said, but the results
of the ballistics and toxicol-
ogy samples are pending and
could take several months.
‘They never gave
him a chance’
Michaela Wilson, who
lives in the RV park, she said
after the attack, Case had the
two pistols and was complain-
ing about “how those dogs
needed to be put down.” But
he was not pointing the guns
at anyone, she added.
When she went outside,
Wilson said she saw Case’s
body near his trailer. She said
the pistols were holstered and
the holster was in his hand,
not attached to his body.
Others who knew Case
said that it is unlikely he
would have courted a standoff
with police.
“The guy I knew, if they
would have given him 10
seconds, they could have ne-
gotiated with him and there
wouldn’t be a body on the
ground,” said Jeff Walker,
who worked with Case at Go-
rilla Gas.
LINH DEPLEDGE/FOR THE DAILY ASTORIAN
A message outside Gorilla Gas honors Cashus Dean Case,
who was shot and killed by Seaside police. Case worked at
the gas station.
Ken Case Sr., Case’s father,
drove from Elk City, Idaho, to
Seaside after he heard about
the shooting. He said his son,
who moved to the coast from
Idaho two years ago, had a
daughter and liked to fish.
While the two men had
their ups and downs, he de-
fended his son and appealed to
people not to judge Case by a
felony drug conviction in 2012
that prohibited him from hav-
ing guns.
“I’m feeling a lot of pain.
It hurts,” Case Sr. said. “He
wasn’t that kind of a kid. He
really wasn’t … I think he was
trying to right a wrong.
“He was the type of guy
where if you were digging a
hole and there was an extra
shovel, he’d pick it up and
start helping.”
Ken Case Jr., Case’s brother,
said they fought like brothers
often do. But he described Case
as very protective. “He’s not
perfect,” he said. “But he’s not
the type to pull a gun on a cop.”
Tragic
confrontation
Cpl. Davidson was also
involved in the tragic con-
frontation that left Sgt. Jason
Goodding dead in February
2016.
Davidson and Goodding
were trying to arrest Phillip
Max Ferry on a felony war-
rant downtown when Ferry
resisted. Davidson fired his
Taser at Ferry, who fired one
shot from a pistol back at the
officers, hitting Goodding un-
der his bulletproof vest. Da-
vidson fired several rounds
from his gun and killed Ferry.
An investigation conclud-
ed that Davidson was legal-
ly and morally justified in
shooting Ferry.
In December 2015, Da-
vidson was among several
officers involved in a traffic
stop on U.S. Highway 101
that nearly spun out of con-
trol.
A Wheeler man refused to
give his driver’s license to a
Cannon Beach police officer
who had stopped him for a
defective headlight. After a
protracted debate on the side
of the highway, the driver
started his car, prompting
Davidson, who had placed
a spike strip in front of the
vehicle, to draw his gun and
order the driver to turn off the
engine.
The Cannon Beach police
officer cautioned that officers
did not have to force the driv-
er to accept a traffic citation.
Officers ultimately left the ci-
tation under the man’s wind-
shield wiper, and he drove
away.
9:33 a.m., S. Wahanna: Police
respond to a report of an in-
toxicated woman. She is given
a courtesy ride to the Outlet
Mall to purchase a ticket to
Portland. She was later ob-
served at the bus stop, waiting
for the bus.
4:21 p.m., Police headquar-
ters: A person came in to
register as a sex offender.
July 14
2:16 a.m., G Street, Gearhart:
A person is arrested and
charged with driving under
the influence of intoxicants.
3:42 p.m., Shilo Inn and the
Prom: Person reports being
harassed and followed by
two intoxicated males. Police
locate the subjects who warn
them of their behavior.
4:36 p.m., 2300 block S. Roos-
evelt: A person is arrested and
charged with strangulation
and assault.
July 15
6:50 p.m., Lifeguard tower: A
child reported lost is found by
a good Samaritan and reunit-
ed with their family.
July 16
11:18 a.m., Keepsake Drive:
Property crimes are reported.
July 17
7:13 p.m., 300 block Ninth
Avenue: Police respond to a
report of a woman passing a
child through a window at a
residence. The woman says it’s
her brother’s home. No crimi-
nality was observed.
July 18
Midnight, S. Roosevelt: A man
and a woman reported to have
been engaged in a verbal dis-
pute denied it when contacted
by a police officer.
3:34 a.m., Avenue U and S.
Downing: Police made contact
with a man sitting in front of
a business. He told police he’d
lost his phone and needed
a taxi to return to the local
hostel. A police officer used
his own phone to call a taxi for
the man.
3:24 p.m., S. Roosevelt: A per-
son is arrested for possession
of methamphetamine and
theft in the third degree.
July 19
3:40 a.m., 200 block Avenue
G: A person is arrested and
charged with assault, strangu-
lation, and harassment.
10:59 a.m., Avenue G and S.
Edgewood: Police respond to
a report of a dog yelping and a
man cussing at the dog. They
were unable to locate.
11:13 a.m., 14th Avenue:
Caller reports children bullying
her son downtown. Police
contact the parents of the
juveniles involved and advise
the juveniles and the parents
of the complaint.
11:37 p.m., N. Prom: Wedding
celebrants are warned of a
party complaint. The cele-
brants say they will go inside
to continue celebrating.
July 20
12:11 a.m., N. Holladay: Police
respond to a report of an
intoxicated person in a hotel
parking lot. They say the per-
son was not intoxicated and
was trying to book a room.
6:54 a.m., Highway 101: Police
respond to a call regarding
a motor vehicle accident in
Gearhart where a person
fell asleep at the wheel and
crashed into a mailbox. No
injuries were reported.
July 21
2:51 p.m., Huckleberry Drive:
A caller who said they were
chased into their own garage
by a neighbor’s dog resulted
in police contacting the dog’s
owner and warning them of
ordinances regarding dogs.
7:37 p.m., Avenue A: Two
teenage girls reported missing
returned home safely.
July 22
10:47 p.m., 1600 block S.
Edgewood: People reported
having too much fun and
making noise in a hot tub
are advised of the complaint;
they agree to go inside for the
night.
July 23
2:07 a.m., Broadway: Caller
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12:07 p.m., The Cove: Com-
plainant says they were bitten
by a dog but then declined to
give more information.
July 24
1:53 a.m., First Avenue: Police
and fire respond to a smoke
alarm that turned out to have
been triggered by marijuana
smoke. No fire found.
8:59 a.m., Avenue K and
Roosevelt: Police respond to
a requested welfare check
regarding an elderly man
walking an imaginary dog. The
subject was fine and was given
a courtesy ride to Safeway.
July 25
4:01 p.m., Bayview Terrace:
Police responded to a caller
reporting a trespasser wearing
only his underwear in her yard.
After searching the area, they
were unable to locate.
10:22 p.m., 1900 block Spruce
Drive: Police responding to a
verbal disturbance find a cou-
ple fighting over who will do
the dishes. Officers warn them
of disorderly conduct.
July 26
5:52 p.m., Fourth Avenue: An
injured cat reported stuck un-
der a porch was unable to be
rescued by police as it was too
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