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Ashland boy gets treatment -- or prison Sex offender, 14, sentenced for molesting neighbor's kids By CHRIS BRISTOL A 14-year-old Ashland boy was ordered Thursday to undergo sex-offender treatment or prepare for prison. Jackson County Juvenile Judge Mark Schiveley essentially gave the boy a chance at probation, with the condition that he first tour the Rogue Valley Youth Correctional Facility in Grants Pass. The facility is a state juvenile prison. "The purpose of the tour," Schiveley told the boy, "is to show you where you are likely to end up if you fail treatment." The judge also sentenced the boy to eight days of custody -- the maximum allowed by law in a county-run juvenile detention hall. Last month, after a bitterly contested eight-day hearing, Schiveley convicted the boy of molesting seven adopted children from a neighbor family. The children have a variety of disabilities. Schiveley acquitted the boy of eight other charges involving another child from the same family and a former neighbor boy. At the start of the hearing, Deputy District Attorney Karen Loomis complained the defendant remained in a state of denial and that he got his attitude from his parents. "He is still denying that he did anything wrong," she said. "What is equally disturbing is that his parents feel the same way. "They believe everyone is out to get their son." The mother of the victims then read a prepared statement that detailed her and her husband's anguish over the the details of abuse. "We lost all our joy in parenting," she said. "We felt our children had been damaged beyond repair." The boy, she said, "stole their (the victims') innocence, but he can never steal their strength." Finally, she urged the boy to seek forgiveness, and asked Schiveley to send the boy to prison if he continues to protest his innocence. Neither the boy nor his parents had anything to say to the court. One of his lawyers, Portland attorney Lisa Maxfield, reminded the court that her client had no prior record and has complied with court orders to date. "This is a kid who has so much potential ... and numerous interests that are so different than other kids," she said. She then asked Schiveley to postpone sentence, pending appeal. The judge declined, and gave the boy two weeks to report for probation. The duration of probation was unclear. The court has jurisdiction over the boy until his 25th birthday. The major component of the boy's probation involves the Jackson County sex-offender program, which includes extensive ongoing polygraph testing. Polygraphs, or lie-detector tests, are designed to elicit truthful disclosures about an offender's sexual history and overall attitude. After the hearing, lead prosecutor Beth Heckert predicted Schiveley will not hesitate to incarcerate the boy if he continues to deny guilt. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA