A DA’S Guide to Convicting a Man of Rape, Guilty or Not
Redmond Oregon is the type of place that people like to say that they are from. A sleepy town wrapped in the mountains of central Oregon with a population of around 15,000 souls. A town small enough not to have traffic congestion, but large enough not to be absent of good schools, culture, entertainment, and perhaps a place to hang out on a weekend. That is just what Kevin Driscoll was doing on the night of Friday January 23rd at the Fireside Lounge where he and his friend, Pete, were having a late night drink. They started a conversation with a woman buy the name of Melissa Leahy-Rossow and her acquaintance, Dennis Baker. The foursome closed the bar. Afterwards Kevin invited them all to come over to his house for a night cap in his hot tub.
On Sunday the 25th the news broke from the local television station:
Redmond man jailed on rape, assault charges
Posted: Jan 25, 2009 01:19 AM EST
Kevin Dennis Driscoll 
By Kate Paul, KTVZ.COM
A 30-year-old Redmond man was arrested Saturday on rape and four other charges in an alleged assault that occurred more than 24 hours earlier, police said.
Redmond Police detectives also executed a search warrant on the home of Kevin Dennis Driscoll as part of the investigation of an alleged sexual assault that occurred in Redmond early Friday morning, said Det. Sgt. Cory Chase.
Driscoll was arrested around noon in Redmond and taken to the Deschutes County Jail, where he was booked on first-degree charges of rape, sodomy, sex abuse and unlawful sexual penetration, as well as fourth-degree assault. Initial bail was set at $382,500.
At a northwest Redmond home, Driscoll allegedly took advantage of a young woman he’d met just hours before.
Police say Driscoll and the young woman met at a bar early Friday morning.
After a few too many, the pair left with a group to go hot-tubbing. That’s when police say things got way out of hand, and Driscoll got aggressive.
Neighbors of Driscoll said Monday they were stunned to learn a nearby resident would do something like that. They said most in the area are easy-going and keep to themselves.
“It’s quiet you know, and nice, nice people – nice neighborhood to live in,” said Alfredo Arreola. “But you never know who’s around.”
It’s a family-oriented neighborhood because of its location, right next to an elementary school, raising serious concerns and fears for parents on Teak Street.
“You’ve got to be more careful and check on the Internet to see who’s around,” Arreola. “Because you’ve got to take care of your little ones.”
-
That was it, a one hundred and four word press release indicting a man in front of his whole community and terrorizing an entire neighborhood. Furthermore, a fax was promptly sent to Kevin’s employer the next day informing them of his arrest which would lead to his suspension and eventually his termination. Guilty or not, Kevin’s life will never again be the same.
The investigation started with the requisite photos of bruises on the woman’s body, the absence of which would have led to him not being arrested and not having his name broadcasted all over the news. Also, there was the documentation of the account she gave of events as follows from a Forensic Report dated April 23rd 2009:
“Briefly, per the police reports, the alleged victim had been to at least two lounges late on the evening of January 22 and early in the morning of January 23, 2009. She indicated that she had drunk “to the point of intoxication.” She and a number of other individuals went to a house for the purpose of “hot tubbing.” After being in the hot tub she reportedly went to lie down on a bed in one of the bedrooms and sometime later the defendant joined her in the bed. Reportedly the defendant then sexually (vaginally and anally) and physically assaulted her, including biting. She reported two separate sexual assaults by the defendant with him standing at the foot of the bed after the first assault in some fashion to keep her from leaving. During the first assault she reportedly struck the defendant; however during the second assault she did not attempt to resist. The defendant subsequently gave her a ride to her car and provided her his name and phone number.”
The set of photos were documented as being taken at the police station and nowhere else. All other photos in a rape case are supposed to be part of a regular set of photos taken at a hospital where the “rape kit” is performed. No photos were ever provided to the forensic expert or to Kevin’s attourneys that were specifically identified as the photos taken at the hospital.
The stories differed significantly. Included in her account was her trip to Kevin’s house in a taxi, one which several eyewitnesses and video refute. Excluded in her account was the documented fact that she had sex with her acquaintance, Dennis Baker, in the hot tub, a fact that she denied at first and then later admitted too when she realized that there was an eyewitnesses to that event. Dennis account of events, as described in a written statement taken by a Brian Buchanan, include that he and Mellissa went over to Kevin’s in a friend’s car and not long after had some limited sexual contact in Kevin’s driveway, something that was caught on a video from a camera affixed to Kevin’s garage. Later, according to the same statement they found themselves alone in the hot tub out back where she aggressively initiated sex with him. During the encounter Dennis noticed some bruises on her body and asked where they came from to which she did not reply but only “turned her head to one side “ avoiding eye contact “like she did when she was nervous.” In this same document, Dennis points out that he is “friends” with her husband and that he doesn’t believe the events at Driscoll’s house occurred as described by his wife. According to her husband, the document notes, they had to move away from the town they were living in previously because of bogus charges filed by her that ruined their reputation.
Shortly after they had finished having sex others joined them in the hot tub and they reported staying there for a long time. Kevin had gone to bed while the others had been in the hot tub and trusted his friend Pete to look after things. Mellissa exited the hot tub and wearing nothing but a hooded sweatshirt was seen heading towards Kevin’s room. Dennis, before leaving some time later, looked through the house for Mellissa calling her name and upon not hearing anything decided that she may have gone home with one of the others and left himself. Driscoll stated that she unexpectedly came into his room when it was dark and pursued sexual relations with him. He said that they had sex twice, once when she first entered the room and once just before they left the morning after. Early the next morning video footage from the camera affixed to Kevin’s garage documented Kevin entering his car and having it warmed up before Mellissa entered it on her own volition and they drove off. Later footage from a camera near the Fireside Lounge where her car was still parked showed Kevin giving Mellissa his phone number before saying goodbye.
After his release from jail Kevin got an attorney, Ted Coran, who specializes in sexual assault defense cases and the original trial date was set for June 6th, 2009. Coran assured Kevin that as soon as Dennis’ account of what had happened was presented that the charges would be dropped and Kevin would not have anything to worry about. District Attorney Welsh Ashby was originally assigned to try the case but not long after the case was scheduled a new prosecutor was assigned and immediately it was rescheduled to September 22nd. The new prosecuting tourney’s name was Jody Vaughan.
Jody Vaughan has had a storied past in the Oregon Criminal Justice System. She has been practicing since 1986 and was an assistant DA in Josephine County until 2004 when she got the same job in Deschutes County where Driscoll was booked. While in Josephine County she prosecuted a case in which a 65 year old man by the name of T.J. Burris of Hugo Ore. Burris was sentenced to twenty years in prison for a crime that he and many others say he did not commit. Burris, then an elder at the First Assembly of God church in Grants Pass, Ore., was accused by his granddaughter of beating and sexually abusing her. Two trials were held for this particular case the first of which he was found not guilty. Apparently, the not guilty verdict wasn’t good enough for Vaughan and her boss, Timothy R. Thomson, who boasted a 95% conviction rate in their county. In spite of a confession by the alleged victim between the trials that the allegations were false Vaughan and Thomson were able, through the testimony of the parents of his granddaughter, who had a well documented past of fraud as well as other crimes, to convict Burris and he spent the next eight years behind bars with the remainder of his sentence being served as a parolee. There are no less than six complaints filed against Vaughan during her career as a prosecutor and she is also famous for aggressively prosecuting DUI cases in the county. Thomson has since taken the job of Union County D.A. and has worked for the Oregon Department of Justice.
The treatment of the forensic evidence in the Oregon v. Driscoll case mirrors the cavalier attitude towards testimony and evidence shown in the Burris case. When Kevin’s attorney approached Vaughan in order to procure further photos supposedly taken at the hospital as part of a routine rape kit procedure they were not forthcoming. A document dated January 27th 2009 from the Redmond Police Department was given to Kevin’s attorney stating that Leahey came down to have additional photos taken. Stating that “photos had already been taken and she didn’t see the need for more to be taken” she only volunteered to have those injuries not in her vaginal area photographed. When approached by Coran about the photos of her vaginal area Vaughan stated ambiguously that the photos were either lost or were part of the set that he already had of the bruises examined by the forensic expert on April 23rd. Coran was incredulous. To date there are no photos of her vaginal area that show any trauma to the area.
Furthermore, the forensic report prepared on the 23rd of April clearly states that the bruises appeared to be much older than would have occurred anytime the alleged events happened due to coloration of the wounds. Also, the report said of the alleged bite mark on the upper right chest that “this area of the body is not protuberant and I think it would be difficult, if not altogether impossible, to create a bite mark in this region without a corresponding bite mark.” Put simply, there are no pictures of the alleged injury to the vaginal region, a forensic expert who had excellent credentials and was well published dismissed the injuries as having taken place the night of the incident and that it was doubtful that there were any bite marks and the presence of testimony by someone who was intimate with Leahey moments before the alleged incident occurred noted the presence of such injuries did not stop Vaughan from pursuing a conviction.
Vaughan’s treatment of the case as it pertains to trial dates and other alleged activities of Driscoll pending trial is also very curious, if not alarming. The trial has been delayed twice with the current date being set at November 3rd 2009. Since Kevin’s release from jail he has been under house arrest and wears an ankle transponder to monitor his movements. Vaughan has accused Driscoll of tampering with the transponder, something that Kevin’s case handler vehemently denies. Former girlfriends of Kevin who happened to not have very flattering things to say about him were corralled in front of the judge at a pretrial hearing in order to qualify them for testimony and the judge refused to let them testify. Allegations were also made by Vaughan that Kevin had made withdraws from ATMs in the area which can be proven false because they were made by his friend and sister and photos are easily procured from the bank cameras. Vaughan has also produced another “expert opinion” to counter the forensic report. A general practitioner from the area who has no forensic experience has been scheduled to testify in the case in order to increase the likelihood of a conviction. Coran calls this a typical case of pitting one doctor against another in order to dissuade the jury.
The press has been extremely ambivalent about the case. Repeatedly, Kevin’s close friend, Angela Dundas of Bend Oregon, has approached local media outlets to tell Kevin’s story and referred them to the work of Joseph Snook, and investigative reporter that writes for a publication called the U.S. Observer that bills itself as a watchdog for Oregon public officials. One of their favorite targets is Vaughan who has apparently given them much fodder for articles in the past. KTVZ has been on record saying that they felt that the U.S. observer is little more than a tabloid and have told Dundas that their writers have a wild imagination. Dundas’ response has been that “they don’t know anything that I didn’t know from the beginning.” However, no coverage other than their original report broadcast on the 25th of January and that of the U.S Observer has been offered to the public about this case.
Possibly related posts...
| More from Robert O'Hara
Stumble It!
@ Mike,
I would like to hear more about this other rape case in Deschutes County. Can you share some details here?
And this is not the only case the DA’s office has on it’s docket that is somewhat similar. They have another case where there is no evidence, but they continue to drag it out. Sounds like you in Deschutes County need to voice more of your opinion to the voters.
@mongo,
Mongo what you are describing is almost certainly the case in many small communities all across the country. It is after all the way most things, good or bad, get done. However the collusion can be tacit and have just the same effect.
By making allot of high profile arrests the DA’s office supplies the local press with a lot of sensational stories the public likes to read or hear about, thus making them lots of money. This all makes the DA look good so they can get elected to higher office and place cronies or protégé’s in their old positions. When facts come up that indicate the accused innocence the neither the DA nor the press want to look bad. It isn’t good for business for either. So a typical reaction that you would get from the DA’s office is a glib: “well the truth will come out in court won’t it?” Yea right, not when you suppress evidence and trump up the story. And the typical response you get from the press is a snooty: “Hey if these new details were for real WE would have reported them. Those other guys are nothing but tabloid journalists.” These are, literally, the responses I got from both the DA and KTVZ when I contacted them about this case. I don’t know which is scarier, the old boys’ network or tacit complacency and collective narcissism.
I’m surprised the local media haven’t been more interested in covering a case that has all the essential parts for a story of public interest. I can’t see how watchers of local TV news in a small town wouldn’t want to know what’s going on with their local prosecutor.
So I’m wondering if in small towns like this, the local media and the local police/prosecutors might personally know one another, and maybe even get a round of golf in together on the odd week-end. Is this too much of a reach, or does someone living locally have some knowledge of how close these people might be?
Remember the Duke Lacrosse case? Prosecuting innocent men is a risk prosecutors are willing to take. The D.A. is seen as being tough on crime, and the newspapers go for those type of stories. Since the D.A. is s good source of stories for the local newspaper, reporters have little incentive to ask the D.A. any tough questoions.
Furthermore, the anti-male sentiment taught on secular college campuses and expressed in the popular culture breeds this environment of branding “all men as rapists”. See:
http://news.mensactivism.org/node/9539
http://www.angryharry.com/index.html
It should be obvious that casual sex puts men in a very vulnerable position legally. However, with the Duke Lacrosse case, accusations can entangle men who weren’t sexually involved at all. Heck, they can prosecute a man even if he was miles away!
Bottom line: I’m glad I’m married to a woman who isn’t a femisit. Don’t marry a feminist. Let them stay single and childless!
Unfortunately, as many MRA’s are well aware, and men as a whole are growing more aware…this style of case is not uncommon.
There are a lot of risks involved in even having the most miniscule contact with women these days, as many of you have demonstrated by illustrating the numerous data and false cases of rape, sexual harassment, etc.
It’s a dangerous world for men these days, and walking on eggshells is no way to live. Particularly if you can be slapped in jail when you didn’t even do anything wrong.
Things like this need to come to an end, period.
Another story from Fredicksburg.com
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/022009/02052009/442642/index_html
Similar version of same story from Bluhm.com
http://blog.law.northwestern.edu/bluhm/2009/03/false-guilty-pleas-and-juvenile-injustice.html Quote
“If it is hard for people to believe that someone would confess to a crime he or she did not commit, it is even harder for people to grasp why anyone would plead guilty in open court to a crime he or she did not commit. By pleading guilty, defendants not only forfeit the right to prove their innocence but they often foreclose any chance of prevailing on appeal or in post-conviction proceedings (and, in several states, are excluded from seeking DNA testing). False Guilty Pleas are the dirty little secret of the criminal justice system. “
I once had a book written by a lawyer “Never Plead Guilty”. You give up your right to an appeal and change in circumstances. TV recently had a story of a man who was convinced by Louisiana authories the horrors of deaht penalty, as a youngster so he confessed to a crime in another state. Now 22 years after in prison they denied him pardon or parole even though there was evidence that someon else had committed the crime. Of course it’s up to each individual if they want to roll the dice and take their chances.
Anothe example from West Viirginia. Link: grio
http://www.thegrio.com/2009/10/west-virginia-woman-says-she-lied-about-torture-by-whites.php
This Vaughan person is a hatemonger, she hates men and will abuse her position to make mens lives misserable. But I do have to say, such people , though they are in the wrong, their actions are ultimately the responsibility of the soveriegn owners of this country. We have been asleep at the wheel for forty years and the communist have taken over the country We have allowed this kind of behavior , insteed of holding these “terrorist” accountable and forcing our legislators to pass laws to remove the immunity that most these “leaches” hide behind. We have instead allowed our servants free reign and now the servants don’t know they are the servants.
I fear that one day soon, civilized and lawful methods to remove these people will be gone and we will have load our guns and run up the confederate flag.
Oh, I know that we will eventually have to take action and get rid of these “terrorist” I just hope we can do it without too many innocents becoming victims. That we can salvage our country and rebuild.
That we learn our lesson and never let the servants believe they are our boss, ever again.
District Attorney
Mike Dugan: miked@co.deschutes.or.us or Call 541-388-6520
Deputy DA:
SHEFONG aka Jody Vaughan:Jody_Vaughan@co.deschutes.or.us and phone number:541 330-4619
60 MINUTES: 60m@cbsnews.com or Call 212-975-3247
KOHD News Director
Nicole Moye: newsdirector@kohd.com and news@kohd.com
KTVZ 21 News Director:
Lee Anderson: leea@ktvz.com
KTVZ 21 News: ktvz@ktvz.com and stories@ktvz.com
The Statesman Journal: http://community.statesmanjournal.com/tools/sendmailforms/letters_to_the_editor.php
Please submit your emails everyone.
I have been blogging about this story myself, and I am glad to see it getting the coverage it deserves. Remember that Kevin Driscoll’s trial begins on 2 Nov, so the more it gets trumpeted between now and then, the better.
http://counterfem.blogspot.com