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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Menu Guide Wedding Weather Subscribe Contact Us July 29, 2006 Smith sex abuse case lingers Judge will announce his decision at a later date By Alan Panebaker Ashland Daily Tidings Josephine County Circuit Court Judge Pat Wolke is waiting to rule in a post-conviction relief hearing for summary judgment in the trial of Ryan D. Smith, a 22-year-old man who was convicted in 1999 of sexually abusing seven younger children. In a 75-minute hearing at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, the judge put information from Smith’s attorney and Oregon Department of Justice attorney Susan Gerber under advisement without setting a date to announce his decision. Tracy McGovern is representing Smith, claiming there was a Brady Violation in the 1999 case, and prosecutors did not turn over evidence that could have exonerated Smith. McGovern was not available for comment Friday afternoon. Deputy Attorney General Peter Shephard said all of the arguments in Thursday’s hearing dealt with the Brady issue, but Smith is also seeking a new trial saying his previous attorney was ineffective in representing him. The Oregon Court of Appeals in 2002 upheld Smith’s conviction, and the state’s Supreme Court declined to hear an additional appeal. “The judge told both parties he would notify them of his decision later,” Shephard said. “The best case scenario for any defendant is a new trial if he prevails in this argument about Brady.” Thursday’s hearing is another step in what has turned into a seven-year saga that started when Smith was 14 years old. He was the next-door neighbor of the children at the time when he was convicted of nine counts of first-degree sex abuse and three other sexual offenses in February 1999. The children, who were between the ages of 7 and 13 when Smith sexually abused them, have varying degrees of physical and mental disabilities. Smith was sentenced to the Rogue Valley Youth Correctional Facility outside of Grants Pass in June 1999. He is set to serve until he is 25 years old. Smith has three years left of his sentence. During the 1999 trial, he repeatedly professed his innocence and could have been released from the correctional facility earlier if he had undergone treatment and polygraph tests, Karen Loomis, who prosecuted the 1999 case, told the Mail Tribune in October. In October 2005, Smith’s attorneys requested the children offer depositions for a post-conviction relief trial. Shelley Linsday, the adoptive mother of the children who were molested, was held in contempt of court when she refused to allow 10 of her children to testify. Phillip Linsday, Shelley’s husband, was in the Hurricane Katrina disaster zone at the time and was called to return and testify also. In December, the children ended up giving depositions at an advocacy center outside the courtroom with both attorneys present. Linsday attended Thursday’s hearing but would not comment on her feelings about the outcome. “This is a very difficult time for our family, and we’re not going to make any comments,” Linsday said. For convicted criminals, the post-conviction relief option is a last chance for a new trial. A judge could grant a new trial if he finds in favor of a plaintiff that a person convicted of a crime had inadequate counsel or if more evidence comes forward. Steve Doell, president of the Lake Oswego advocacy group Crime Victims United of Oregon, has been communicating with Linsday and is lobbying to introduce state legislation that would prevent situations like the Linsday’s where victims are subpoenaed to testify after a defendant has been found guilty. “What it will do is hopefully stop situations like this from happening,” Doell said. “If they think they need more information, put it in front of the judge, so that it isn’t just a field day for these criminal defense attorneys.” Doell said the main issue he has encountered in Smith’s case is the victims having to return to testify again once a defendant has been proven guilty. “Once a victim’s been through this in a trial, they shouldn’t have to go through it again,” Doell said. “It’s an outrage.” Judge Wolke did not announce when he would rule on Thursday’s hearing. Staff writer Alan Panebaker can be reached at 482-3456 x 227 or [email protected]. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Advertisement .:Advertisements:. Site Search: RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams