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Sex abuse case lacks key county documents By Jonel Aleccia Less than two weeks before a criminal trial, prosecutors still do not have mental health records of two developmentally disabled men allegedly sodomized by the Jackson County caseworker assigned to help them. Jackson County officials have not released records that would reveal, among other facts, the adult male victims� mental capacity in the case against former county worker Robert Forrest Jackson, 62, of Talent. Trial is set for Sept. 27. The records are key to determining whether the men are legally intelligent enough to consent to sexual contact under Oregon law. "We did subpoena the records," Deputy District Attorney Terry Smith said Thursday. "They have their procedures and we have ours." Citing confidentiality requirements, Hank Collins, director of Jackson County Health and Human Services, said he would release the records only on the advice of the county�s own attorneys. "It would take a court order. It would take someone appointed as a guardian to tell me to do that," he said. "I know there�s been some informal discussion about how to proceed. I�m trusting that the prosecutors and the lawyers will somehow get these in the hands of the district attorney." He acknowledged that the records would clearly establish the men�s eligibility for the state developmental disability program, which provides services to clients with IQs of less than 70. An IQ of 100 is considered average. Under Oregon law, sex among adults may be a crime if one of the participants is deemed mentally unfit to consent. The alleged victims range in age from mid-20s to mid-40s, according to records. "This whole competency thing is going to be debated by the lawyers at the trial," Collins said. Since 1988, the local developmental disability program had employed Jackson to supervise more than 75 clients. Jackson was indicted in August on nine counts of first-degree sodomy and seven counts of first-degree sexual abuse stemming from allegations that he molested two clients in his care. The indictments define the men as "mentally defective." On Thursday, a Jackson County grand jury handed up indictments on eight additional felony counts involving five more victims. The new charges include two counts of first-degree sexual abuse for two of the victims and one count of first-degree sodomy for each of the remaining three victims. The indictments followed an Oregon State Police investigation extending to 1996, the period of time allowed under the six-year statute of limitations for such crimes. There were other prospective victims outside the statute, investigators said. The original victims claimed that Jackson touched their penises with his hands or mouth dozens of times and that the caseworker committed and compelled anal sodomy, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by OSP investigators. Another alleged victim told police Jackson promised additional county money in exchange for fondling. The legal wrangling is not unusual, Smith and Collins contended. Smith emphasized that the county has not hindered the prosecution�s efforts. "They�ve had their issues," she said. "It�s just basically logistics in releasing things." For his part, Collins said his department has cooperated fully with law enforcement officials while trying to protect clients� confidentiality. "I�ll say unequivocally that the county is not doing anything to impede the investigation," he said. But Collins also acknowledged that if Jackson is convicted in a criminal lawsuit, it leaves the county more vulnerable to civil suits that could be filed by the alleged victims and their families. "You think we�re not worried about that? We�re fully aware of that," he said. "But the county is much more worried that justice is done than any concerns we would have about civil liability," he added. "It�s natural to be concerned, but that�s why we�ve got insurance." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA