Saturday, November 21, 2009

A SPOKESMAN-REVIEW INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

Stories result of 3-year investigation

Note to our readers

Steven A. Smith / Editor

May 5, 2005

© The Spokesman-Review 2005

Today’s Spokesman-Review contains a disturbing package of stories that include serious allegations of sexual misconduct by Mayor Jim West.

The stories, by staff reporters Bill Morlin and Karen Dorn Steele, are the result of an investigation that began in 2002. At that time, the newspaper was investigating the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Allegations surfaced that Jim West sexually molested young boys in the late 1970s when he was a Boy Scout leader and a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy.

In a June 2003 story, Morlin reported that West, then a state legislator and candidate for Spokane mayor, had been close friends in the late ’70s with sheriff’s Deputy David Hahn and Scout leader George E. Robey, who killed themselves amid accusations of child molestation.

While the 2003 stories did not include specific abuse allegations against West, they did generate tips from additional sources that the newspaper has spent the past two years investigating.

Today’s stories are the result.

Through the use of public records, court documents, first-person accounts and a forensic computer expert, the newspaper has uncovered evidence that West has led a secret life for more than 25 years. Beyond the serious allegations of sexual abuse, West had been using his position in the Legislature to block gay-rights legislation. And he has been trolling the Internet for young lovers while while serving as mayor of Spokane, offering gifts and favors.

In a lengthy interview Wednesday evening, Mayor West denied the most serious allegations while acknowledging his Internet activity.

Today’s stories speak for themselves. But I know many readers will have questions. Those questions deserve answers.

Is the mayor’s sexual orientation or sex life a story?

This is not a story about sexual orientation. This is a story about alleged sexual abuse of children and misuse of power and authority. Using the trappings of office to lure and groom young sex partners, barely of legal age, is the public’s business whether those potential partners are men or women. West is the city’s second strong mayor, a powerful political force, the face of our city whose secret life could open him to blackmail or extortion attempts and compromise his ability to do his job.

Who are the sources for these stories?

As much as possible, sources for today’s stories are fully identified, including two men who accuse West of abusing them when they were children. We have granted anonymity to two other young men who say they met West through the Web site Gay.com, because they don’t want family and friends to know they are gay. Numerous politicians and foes and contemporaries of West have been interviewed on the record. Furthermore, the newspaper hired a forensic computer expert to anonymously engage West in online chats on Gay.com and pose as a young man. The expert, a former U.S. Customs Service agent who has helped law enforcement agencies identify pedophiles online, was hired to confirm that West was the man behind several online identities and to confirm the accounts of the real men. Under ordinary circumstances, the newspaper would not use a fictional scenario in pursuit of a news story. But the seriousness of the allegations and the need for specific computer forensic skills overrode our general reluctance.

Why publish the stories now and not when West was running for mayor in 2003 or years before when he was in the state Legislature?

Rumors of inappropriate behavior have followed West for years, but newspapers are not in the business of reporting rumors. Stories of this significance – with the potential of ruining a public servant’s public life – must be based on provable facts and documentation. Our investigation matured at its own pace, and the stories are being published now because we are fully confident that they are fair and accurate.

Are the men accusing West of child sexual abuse credible?

Ultimately, citizens will have to weigh the evidence and decide for themselves. One accuser has completed a sworn deposition. The accounts of both men are consistent with known facts about David Hahn and George Robey. And experts in this field will tell you that sexual predators often seek out and groom at-risk children, who develop into troubled adults.

The Spokesman-Review understands fully the political ramifications of today’s investigative report. We know we’ll hear from readers. Some will want to criticize the mayor. Some will want to criticize us. Some will have additional tips they believe the newspaper should pursue. We have provided a number of ways for readers to reach us. Comments intended for my immediate attention should be directed to editorforum@spokesman.com.

Steven A. Smith can be reached at steves@spokesman.com or (509) 459-5423.