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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Women in Business Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend March 16, 2007 New witnesses barred in sexual-abuse trial By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Prosecutors tried but failed Thursday to bring more child witnesses before jurors to testify that the former receptionist at a school-based clinic tried to look down their shirts. Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Bill Purdy ruled the last-minute evidence inadmissible in the trial of 29-year-old Luis Armando Mesta of Medford. Testimony from three additional grade-school girls — who are not named as victims in the case — would be "inflammatory" and "distracting," negating any potential value to jurors, Purdy said. Mesta's trial is scheduled to conclude today with jurors' verdict on allegations that he touched five students' breasts at Kids Health Connection on the campus of Jackson Elementary School. All parties, however, expressed concern that the proceedings could stretch into Monday. Attorneys' two-hour questioning of Denise Duren, the clinic's nurse practitioner, yielded conflicting responses. Duren was the first to hear one girl's accusation against Mesta on Oct. 2. She wrote in the fourth-grader's chart that the girl was out of her sight only for a few seconds while Mesta escorted her to an exam room. Yet Duren told Medford police that Mesta and the girl could have been alone for as long as five minutes. She told jurors Thursday that she could see "quite a bit" of the girl, but didn't see everything while pacing the clinic's hallway taking cell-phone calls from her employer, La Clinica del Valle. Advertisement Duren also admitted to investigators and the court that she doubted the alleged victim's truthfulness when she heard the girl — a foster child — had suffered sex abuse at age 3 and also had suffered hallucinations. The nurse said she asked the girl to clarify what she thought it meant when Mesta lifted up the child's shirt and bra in the exam room. Yet Duren recalled that Mesta was holding a stethoscope when she saw him in the girl's exam room and overheard him asking her if she wanted to listen to her heart. Four of the alleged victims testified Wednesday that Mesta used a stethoscope as a ruse to feel their breasts. Mesta's job duties did not include any physical contact with patients, Duren testified. Another clinic nurse, Phylis Wetzel, told jurors she did not recall interrupting Mesta in her office with a sixth-grade student in September. The girl testified Wednesday that Mesta reached down her shirt and touched her breasts under the pretense of examining a necklace she was wearing. After Duren heard the Oct. 2 allegations against Mesta, two other girls on that same day told school officials of similar experiences. Mesta, who lived in the 300 block of West Clark Street, immediately was placed on leave. Two more girls came forward within several days. The Mail Tribune does not print names of alleged sex abuse victims. Jurors won't hear testimony from one of Mesta's female family members who told police that he sexually abused her a decade ago. Prosecutor Rachel Bridges moved to dismiss those charges on the basis of a technical error in the District Attorney's Office's indictment of Mesta, which did not clearly state that the case fell outside the statute of limitations. Arrested Oct. 9, Mesta remains in the Jackson County Jail on five counts of first-degree sex abuse. If convicted, he faces a mandatory sentence of six years and three months in prison. Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Trunks, Footlocker Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Casinos Canada Cord Blood Banking Discount Hotel Reservations Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Men's Clothing Debt Help New Hampshire Primary