Seattle Court Uses New Law to Prosecute Sexual Offender, Part 1

Up until recently, it has been extremely difficult to prosecute child molesters. In addition to exceeding the statute of limitations, prior sexual improprieties have generally been ruled as inadmissible. All that changed when state law began allowing additional victims to testify. The value is that such testimony can help build a case that shows a long pattern of abusive behavior. Over time, habitual offenders leave behind them a trail of damaged victims who often take their secrets with them to the grave.

In June, the first case to be heard under the new law began. The current case deals with the 2002 rape of a seven year old. More than another half dozen family members have come together to testify that 79 year old Roger Alan Scherner raped or sexually molested them in the past forty years.

King County, Washington Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Julie Kays encouraged a forty-nine year old woman to testify about the time when Scherner “approached and raped her while she was spending the night at a relative’s California home.”

The woman had not told anyone of the abuse because of the confusion, fear, and physical injuries. Meanwhile, the statue of limitations ran out. Scherner, who has been accused of rape and child molestation over several decades, was never prosecuted – or even charged. The new state law permits the woman’s story to be heard as part of the effort to prosecute Scherner.

One of the problems in dealing with child molestation, or even rape, is that there may be very little physical evidence – so little that it is difficult to construct a solid case.