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Plea deal reached in shelter sex case Woman will testify against ex-colleague By JONEL ALECCIA TALENT - A 22-year-old former youth shelter supervisor admitted Tuesday that she allowed drug use and had sex with teen clients at the site, offering guilty pleas that could mean she'll face more than four years in prison. But Desiree Joy Seiver of Central Point dodged the most serious of the 18 charges she faced by agreeing to testify against her former co-worker, Wayne Randall Gatrel. Gatrel, 43, of Medford, faces 14 charges, including a dozen sex crimes, in a trial set to begin Thursday. "Desiree was always ready to admit what she did and that what she did was wrong," Gary Berlant, Seiver's court-appointed attorney, said Tuesday. In May, Seiver contended the incidents never occurred. A smiling Seiver pleaded guilty before Judge Patricia Crain to three felony charges of third-degree rape, a felony racketeering charge and four misdemeanor charges stemming from actions at the Community Works Youth Diagnostic Shelter. But terms of the plea agreement will dismiss 10 other felony charges against her, including four counts of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct. That charge, a Measure 11 offense, carries a mandatory sentence of nearly six years for each conviction. Seiver, who stands 6 feet, 1 inch and weighs 285 pounds, suffers from low self-esteem, depression and "some psychological problems" that led her to have sex with boys as young as 15, Berlant said. Legal employment screenings at Community Works may not have detected those issues when she was hired to work weekend nights at the shelter. "Clearly, she should not have been in the position that she was in," Berlant said. The most appropriate punishment for Seiver would include probation and sex-offender registration and treatment, not prison time, said Berlant. "She doesn't want people to condone her behavior, but perhaps to understand it," he said. Arnie Green, executive director of Community Works, would not comment Tuesday on Seiver's admissions. "At some point, I'll be able to say something else, but while there's a court case going on, I can't say much about it," Green said. Seiver's testimony may bolster the case against Gatrel, whose 14 charges include four felony Measure 11 charges that he used children in displays of sexually explicit conduct. Evidence suggested that Gatrel, more than Seiver, was responsible for allowing four children at the shelter to have sex with each other while another person watched, Jackson County District Attorney Mark Huddleston said Tuesday. Gatrel, who stands 5-feet-7-inches and weighs 180 pounds, also faces felony charges of harassment and racketeering and eight misdemeanor sex charges. Gatrel and his lawyer, Larry Parker of Medford, have said that the eight alleged victims in the case, all 15- or 16-year-old clients, are motivated by the prospect of monetary settlements or revenge for punishment at the shelter. Parker has suggested that the teens might have past behavior or conditions that impair their credibility. But moves to subpoena county employees and records that may have cast doubts on the teens' accusations were rebuffed by Judge Ray White. Trial is now set to begin at 8 a.m. Thursday. In a related matter, a third defendant was arraigned Tuesday on charges alleging he brought methamphetamine to teens at the shelter. Ryan Jeffrey Keller, 19, of San Clemente, Calif., faces one count of possession of methamphetamine and two counts of delivery of the substance. Keller, formerly of Medford, was arrested Saturday and pleaded not guilty. He was convicted in Jackson County in 1999 of methamphetamine possession. At the time of the most current incident, he was the boyfriend of one of the young accusers, sources have said. Keller was lodged in the Jackson County Jail on $100,000 bail. Seiver and Gatrel remain lodged there on $300,000 bail each. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.