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Conflict severed in Jackson abuse trial Judge removes one alleged victim By Jonel Aleccia A former Jackson County caseworker jailed on sex charges will face one less accuser in a trial postponed by two weeks, a judge ruled Thursday. Jackson County Judge Pat Crain granted a motion to sever one alleged victim from a group of seven to avoid a conflict of interest with the chief prosecutor. The move deletes three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and four counts of first-degree sodomy from the criminal charges facing Robert Forrest Jackson, 62, of Talent. Jackson still will face nine counts of first-degree sexual abuse and eight counts of first-degree sodomy involving six developmentally disabled adult male victims in a trial postponed from Tuesday to Nov. 28. Charges involving the first victim could be refiled in a separate case that would not be prosecuted by Terry Smith, a Jackson County deputy district attorney. Jackson�s court-appointed attorney, Andy Vandergaw, had subpoenaed Smith as a defense witness because she represented the victim in a 1996 criminal case. That created a conflict of interest that could have forced local authorities to refer the case to the state Attorney General�s Office for prosecution. Smith argued that the referral would create a lengthy delay that would further distress victims waiting to testify. In the months since Jackson�s August arrest, some of the developmentally disabled victims scheduled to testify have shown signs of stress, including self-mutilation, heavy alcohol use and extreme anxiety. One victim was admitted to the psychiatric ward at Rogue Valley Medical Center because of the stress, she said. "It�s a very scary process for them, they�re very fragile," Smith said. Crain granted the motion to sever the case, which prompted Vandergaw, reluctantly, to file a motion to continue the trial. Vandergaw had hoped to force the state to file for a delay, which could have freed Jackson from the county jail, where he has been held since Aug. 2. In Vandergaw�s favor, Crain granted a motion forcing the state to provide psychiatric evaluations of all the victims by 5 p.m. today. Vandergaw argued that Smith had not provided crucial information in a timely fashion, in an attempt to create what he called "a trial by surprise." When the trial does commence, it likely will hinge on the issue of the victims� diminished mental capacity. All the victims have been enrolled in the county developmental disabilities program, which accepts clients with IQs of 70 or below. Average IQ is 100. But Vandergaw plans to argue that the victims are adult men capable of judging their own behavior. They have been granted state driver�s licenses and marriage licenses. At least one has been granted custody of his child, Vandergaw said. Establishment of mental defect is at the heart of the indictments against Jackson. At issue is whether the victims were mentally capable of consenting to homosexual sex with the caseworker. Jackson�s role as a professional counselor and an authority figure is not a legal issue in the matter. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.