Document text
49 °F 5 Day Forecast Saturday, November 29, 2003 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | eSouthernOregon | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental 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 Email Story to a Friend November 13, 2003 Sex offender gets prison sentence By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune A Medford man who often tricked girls into taking their clothes off for him will go to prison for grabbing a girl who refused to perform the stunt. Convicted of second-degree kidnapping in September, Curtis Eugene Fleming, 30, was sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in prison, the minimum penalty required under Oregon’s tough-on- crime law, Measure 11. He also must register as a sex offender when released from prison. Fleming said he convinced women to take their clothes off for him hundreds of times using a story that he was trying to win a trip to Australia by timing people doing silly tricks. He first asked women or girls to switch their shoelaces, then their shirts, said prosecutor Beth Heckert. If he succeeded in the shirt swap, Fleming asked victims to exchange their pants, Heckert said. But he never threatened anyone until this year. When Fleming in April delivered his standard story to two girls, 12 and 13, walking near Eighth and Front streets, they refused his request. Fleming grabbed the 12-year-old and tried to drag her into some bushes, but her friend pulled her free, and the two ran several blocks home, Heckert said. Fleming followed the girls for a short way on his bicycle but left when they came upon a male friend, Heckert added. Advertisement "It was very brave what both of you did," Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Mejia told the two girls, who were present in court but declined to speak. "I was very troubled by this case, and even more so after reading the defendant’s history," Mejia said, adding that he wanted to impose a stiffer sentence but didn’t think it would hold up under a defense challenge. Before Fleming’s arrest, Medford police had received numerous reports early this year of a man approaching teenage girls and asking them to perform odd stunts, such as swapping items of clothing, investigators said. Fleming was briefly jailed on a parole violation after asking teenage girls in January to swap jackets and trying to lure them behind a building at Bear Creek Center. Fleming, who lives in the first block of Chestnut Street, had failed to report to his parole officer and skipped sex-offender treatment. Fleming was charged in a similar clothes-swapping case in 2000 and served about a year in prison on convictions of attempting to use a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct. In 1998, he was placed on probation after pleading guilty to four harassment charges. In those cases, he asked women to hug him and then grabbed their breasts, Heckert said. Charges of third-degree sex abuse were dismissed in those cases. Fleming apologized in court Wednesday for his behavior and for scaring the girls. He had forgiven himself for his crimes, he said. "That’s part of your problem," Mejia said. "You’ve forgiven yourself too many times without addressing the issues that cause you to be a terror in this community." Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, 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 © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times