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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 14, 2007 Defense will try to prove sex abuse couldn't have happened So says the lawyer for Luis Armando Mesta, charged with multiple counts of sex abuse, sodomy By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Jurors in this week's trial of a nonprofit clinic's former receptionist will hear that the alleged molestation of five grade-school girls was impossible, his defense attorney said Tuesday. Clinic nurse Denise Duren will testify she was out of sight for just a few seconds while Luis Armando Mesta placed a fourth-grade patient in an exam room at Kids Health Connection on Oct. 2, Mesta's attorney, Paul Beneke, told jurors in his opening statement. After the girl told Duren that Mesta had reached under her shirt and touched her breasts, four other girls came forward with similar allegations. Mesta, 29, is charged with five counts of first-degree sex abuse in the case and additional counts of first-degree sex abuse and first- and second-degree sodomy stemming from a female family member's subsequent allegation that he molested her at family gatherings a decade ago. Mesta was not supposed to have contact with patients at Kids Health Connection — a partnership between La Clinica del Valle and Asante — located on the grounds of Jackson Elementary School in Medford. Duren, however, wasn't feeling well on Oct. 2, and Mesta was "trying to help her out," Beneke told those assembled in Jackson County Circuit Court. Duren noted that Mesta was no closer than 3 feet from the girl when she stepped out of the room for "four seconds" to get her stethoscope, Beneke said. When the girl "blurted out" that she'd been molested, she also told Duren that she was in foster care and had been molested at age 3 by her father, Beneke said. Duren noted in the girl's file that her foster parents said lying was among the child's chief problems, the defense attorney added. Advertisement The first four girls to allege sex abuse against Mesta were in the same class at Jackson, Beneke said, characterizing the reports as a kind of snowball effect. The fourth, also a foster child, said Mesta touched her breasts in the clinic's waiting room during the previous school year. The fifth girl told police that Mesta took her into the nurse's office at the clinic in September and touched her breasts there before nurse Phylis Wetzel walked in and asked what they were doing, Beneke told the court. However, Wetzel will testify that she doesn't recall any such episode, he added. "As the evidence will show, nothing happened," Beneke argued. Yet jurors witnessed one of the girls' tears as she took the witness stand late Tuesday. When the girl, who has since moved out of the area, began suffering an apparent asthma attack, Judge William Purdy recessed proceedings for the evening. She is to resume testimony today. The Mail Tribune does not print names of alleged sex abuse victims. From the beginning, Mesta denied touching the girls, his attorney said, only to be put on administrative leave the same day school officials heard the allegations. Mesta, who lists an address in the 300 block of Medford's West Clark Street, was arrested a week later. Witnesses' scheduling conflicts, coupled with Beneke's objections that he hadn't received some required materials from the District Attorney's Office, postponed Mesta's trial last week, said prosecutor Rachel Bridges. Mesta's trial is now set to run through Friday. If convicted of the most serious crime of first-degree sodomy, Mesta would be subject to Oregon's mandatory minimum sentence of eight years and four months in prison. He has remained in the Jackson County Jail since Oct. 9 in lieu of $1 million bail. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] . 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