Document text
60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 19, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 26, 2003 Teens will get compensation in abuse case By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune Seven teenagers sexually abused by workers at a Community Works youth shelter almost three years ago will share nearly $445,000 in an out-of-court settlement. The teens — three girls and four boys — will receive individual compensation ranging from almost $40,000 to $110,000, court documents show. The agreement ends a civil lawsuit filed by five of the teens following the 2001 and 2002 criminal sex crimes convictions of Desiree Seiver and Wayne Gatrel, former workers at the Youth Diagnostic Shelter in Talent. Seiver, 24, and Gatrel, 45, are serving prison sentences for crimes including having intercourse with kids as young as 15 and forcing the teens to perform sex acts with and for each other. Advertisement "The kids felt it was better to take (the settlement) rather than to go to trial and bleed some more," said Kelly Andersen, a Medford lawyer who represented the teens. Final judgment is expected this week in the settlement, which was so complicated it required two Eugene judges who specialize in sensitive, high-profile cases to hammer it out. Lane County Circuit Court Judge Lyle Velure and U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken mediated agreements in March. The two judges are perhaps best known for mediating an Oregon lawsuit filed by 23 former altar boys against a Catholic priest. In the local cases, the judges crafted compensation packages that spread payments to some of the victims over years. One girl, who was 16 when she was abused by Seiver and Gatrel between October 2000 and March 2001, will receive a lump sum of more than $60,000 followed by payments of $5,000 in 2005, $10,000 in 2009 and nearly $30,000 in 2014. A boy who was 16 when he was abused by Seiver will receive a nearly $16,000 lump sum and payments of $781 for 30 months starting last July 1. A boy who was 15 when he was abused by Seiver will receive a lump sum of more than $23,000, plus $8,000 in 2006 and nearly $19,000 in 2010. Two of the other four victims, who were all aged 15 and 16 at the time of the crimes, will receive one-time payments of $110,000 and $50,000; the other two will receive $45,000 apiece. The range of settlement amounts reflects the range of injury, Andersen said. "The abuse inflicted on each kid was different," he said. "There were wide varieties of abuse and frequency." Seiver, of Central Point, is serving more than four years in state prison for allowing drug use and having sex with six clients, including boys as young as 15. Gatrel, of Medford, is serving more than five years after conviction on sex abuse and racketeering crimes that included demonstrating sex acts on clients as young as 16. A petition for a new trial was denied; an appeal is pending. Community Works will pay $250,000 in the out-of-court settlement, the amount allowed by a sexual abuse coverage provided through the agency’s insurance company. Jackson County will pay nearly that much through the same insurance company, Washington Casualty, said Mike Jewett, county counsel. One issue that limited the amounts awarded to the victims was that Community Works was insured for $250,000 rather than $500,000 required by state and county contracts. Executive Director Arnie Green said his lawyers were prepared to argue that the agency was insured for up to $1 million. But Andersen said throughout negotiations, Community Works’ lawyers insisted that $250,000 was the agency’s cap. That meant the county’s insurance was tapped for most of the remainder, Andersen said. Although only five of the victims filed a civil lawsuit, two more were added at the county’s insistence on a global settlement, Andersen said. The settlement marks the end of a saga that came to light in April 2001, when nine young people were abruptly removed from the Community Works-run shelter in Talent. The scandal forced closure of the youth shelter, which later reopened under county management. Critics argued that Community Works failed to adequately train or supervise Seiver and Gatrel, who were late-night weekend supervisors. Green, executive director of Community Works, said Monday that the agency did everything it could to prevent the crimes from happening and to cooperate with law enforcement and other officials after learning of the incidents. "When pedophiles and perpetrators of these ugly things want to get what they want, they pick soft targets," Green said. "They pick kids they can intimidate. These people are sick." Green noted that he’s spent more than two decades working on behalf of abused young people in Southern Oregon. Just before the incidents occurred, he was a leader on a statewide task force to improve shelter access and funding. "To have this happen on my watch was devastating," Green said. "No one has advocated longer and harder for this population than I have." Green said he advised the judges in the case to extend payments to the victims over time, if possible. That would allow the young people to use the money for education or training rather than immediate needs. "Some of these folks are in environments where if the money came to them, they might not get it," Green said. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities