New Washington Law Out of 2007 Tragedy, Part 3

In 2007, twelve-year-old Zina Linnik was kidnapped, raped and killed by a convicted sex offender, Terapon Dang Adhahn. Due in part to the public outcry and pressure brought to bear by a number of agencies, among them the Sexual Assault Resource Center, significant changes in prosecution practices are expected to make it much easier to prosecute child molesters.

The first case to be heard under the new law is against Roger Scherner who is charged with three counts of first-degree child molestation. The child, who is now 14, reported to both her police and her mother that Scherner forced the child to touch him and touched her sexually while the family was on vacation in Bellevue, Washington. The incident was reported in 2003 and authorities have been building the case since then.

When detectives began their investigation, they found a total of “nine other family members or family friends spanning three generations who said they, too, had been sexually abused by Scherner over the years.” Until now, none of them has pressed charges. In fact, a 49-year-old woman who says she was molested when she was very young stated that even though her family knew what he had done, they still socialized with Scherner.

On the stand, Mrs. Joanne Scherner invoked her Fifth Amendment rights in response to most questions. “He never told me what this whatever-you-call-it is about. He never explained himself.” However, she did say that following her husband’s arrest, Sherner said, “I’m sorry.”

The accused has made King County Jail his home since he was picked up in March by the United States Marshals Service. Scherner headed for Florida before his trial was set to begin. The arresting officers found him equipped with a loaded gun, wigs and foreign currency.

The statute of limitations, which varies according to the crime and from state to state, continues to be re-examined by lawmakers in many states. Suspects can be prosecuted for incest, child rape and child molestation up until the alleged victim’s twenty-first birthday, or seven years after the last incidence of abuse, whichever occurs later, in Washington State.