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Ashland sex abuser evades capture By Jessica Smith A convicted sex abuser who fled the area to dodge prison has successfully eluded police for nearly four months. Samuel Arthur Silverman, 62, deserted his Ashland apartment in November after voters rejected an effort to repeal Measure 11, the state�s mandatory-minimum sentencing law. Had the repeal effort succeeded, Silverman may have been spared resentencing under Measure 11 guidelines. Steve Brown, an Ashland police detective, said police are continuing their search for Silverman. "We�re working with police agencies outside the Rogue Valley. There are some leads" to Silverman�s whereabouts, Brown said. But, he added, "I�m not at liberty to expound upon that question." Police have filed three warrants for Silverman�s arrest since his Nov. 27 disappearance. He�s charged with a couple probation violations and failure to register as a sex offender at his new address. Silverman was a counselor who specialized in treating sexually abused children when he was arrested in December 1996 for molesting two boys who were not clients. When he pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse in August 1997, Measure 11 sentencing laws required Silverman to serve a minimum of six years, three months in prison. But then-Jackson County Judge Loren Sawyer, a critic of Measure 11�s inflexibility, sentenced Silverman to four months in jail and 10 years of supervised probation. Events since Silverman�s release in December 1997, however, indicate he faces a longer prison term. In addition to the failed repeal of Measure 11, the Oregon Court of Appeals overturned Sawyer�s ruling in 1999, ordering Silverman to be resentenced under Measure 11. And the U.S. Supreme Court in October declined to hear an appeal from Silverman. Silverman�s resentencing hearing had not been set before he left the area. Anyone with information about Silverman � who is described as a 5-foot-7-inch, 174-pound white man with brown hair and brown eyes � is asked to call Ashland police at 482-5211. Reach reporter Jessica Smith at 776-4481, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.