Saturday, November 21, 2009

A SPOKESMAN-REVIEW INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

Four men file claims of abuse by deputy

Claims allege county was negligent in supervision of David Hahn

Bill Morlin / Staff writer

May 5, 2005

© The Spokesman-Review 2005

Note: This story appeared in The Spokesman-Review on Nov. 4, 2003

Four men who claim they were sexually assaulted by a Spokane County sheriff's deputy filed legal claims Monday seeking a total of at least $2 million.

The claims allege the county was negligent in the supervision of Deputy David Hahn, who committed suicide in 1981 after being confronted about accusations that he molested young boys.

"These men deserve compensation, but they are motivated more by the truth finally getting out," said Spokane attorney John Allison, who represents two of the men.

Under state law, claims must be filed before lawsuits can be brought.

If the county rejects the claims or doesn't respond, suits could be filed in 60 days.

County Attorney Tim Durkin said state law normally gives victims three years to file tort claims.

"We will give it careful review and consideration and respond appropriately," Durkin said. "Whether they have viable claims ultimately may have to be addressed by the court after waiting this period of time."

The claims were filed by brothers Brett and Robert Galliher, Douglas Chicklinsky and a former Spokane man who now lives in Oklahoma. He asked not to be publicly identified at this time.

The four men contend their lives were permanently altered after they were raped or sexually abused by Hahn in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Since then, Rob Galliher and Chicklinsky have had repeated run-ins with the law, and both have attempted to resist or elude officers.

When they see a cop in uniform, they have Hahn flashbacks and run, the two men said.

Hahn, a decorated Vietnam veteran, was a sheriff's deputy and Boy Scout leader from 1976 to August 1981.

Three of the victims, whose stories were told in a story published June 8 in The Spokesman-Review, said they were boys when they encountered the sheriff's deputy.

The Oklahoma man, who hadn't been back to Spokane for nine years, coincidentally was visiting his family here and saw the published account.

He said he was devastated by the flashbacks the news account caused him, but expressed an eagerness to pursue the matter.

While in uniform, Hahn befriended the boys, then began taking them on social outings while off-duty, the victims said.

They alleged they were molested at Hahn's South Hill apartment, where he eventually took his own life with a handgun, and at a Boy Scout camp at Diamond Lake.

Complaints filed against Hahn by Galliher's mother and others were put in Hahn's personnel file and destroyed after he killed himself, authorities said.

Allison, who represents Chicklinsky and the Oklahoma man, said some people "may feel that sins of the past are buried and should stay that way."

"But how can we say it won't happen again if we're afraid or unwilling to understand how it was allowed to happen in the first place?" Allison said.

"We believe the evidence will show that Hahn could have been stopped before any of these men were victimized," he said.

Allison said he believes there are other victims besides the four already identified.

Seattle attorneys Steve Reich and Tim Kosnoff represent the Galliher brothers.

Their claims involve "matters that completely altered the course and outcome of each of their lives," Reich said.