Well-connected homosexual pedophile pays over $200,000 to get boy's accusations dropped

EUGENE – Prominent gay activist Terry Bean no longer faces sex abuse charges because the alleged victim in the case failed to show, but also because of Bean's $225,000 offer to settle the case, prosecutors say.

Bean, however, hailed Tuesday's dismissal of the case against him and his ex-boyfriend as a triumph of justice.

"I have been silent for almost a year on the advice of my attorney, but while I am relieved that the charges against me have been dropped, this nightmare never should have even begun," Bean said in a prepared statement.

"I take some measure of comfort that the world now knows what I have always known – that I was falsely accused and completely innocent of every accusation that was made," he said.

Lane County Chief Deputy District Attorney Erik Hasselman said Bean's civil compromise offer had a significant impact on the case.  "I think this result offends justice," Hasselman said.

Civil compromise is legal under Oregon law. Defendants can compensate the victims of certain crimes and have the charges dismissed if a judge approves the deal.

A judge denied Bean's offer in July, but it had already influenced the boy, Hasselman said.

Prosecutors could offer the teenager only $5 a day as a witness fee to testify against Bean – along with "the chance to talk about embarrassing details from his past ... in front of a group of strangers," Hasselman said.

"Mr. Bean offered him over $200,000 to civilly compromise this case," Hasselman said. "Now if you're this child and you have the choice between embarrassment and $5 a day and over $200,000 ... it seems to me that would be a highly influential factor in deciding what you're going to do."

Bean, 67, and former boyfriend Kiah Lawson, 25, were charged with having sex with the boy at a Eugene hotel when he was 15 in 2013. Each was charged with two counts of third-degree sodomy, a felony, and third-degree sexual abuse, a misdemeanor. The judge also dismissed the case against Lawson.

Prosecutors strongly opposed the settlement and said that use of a civil compromise was unprecedented in a child sex abuse case.

Bean's attorney, Derek Ashton, said the request for a settlement came from the boy, now 17, via his attorney. The boy's attorney has said the teenager may file a civil lawsuit against Bean.

Last week, it became clear that the teenager, who lives in San Diego, would not participate in the trial. He successfully evaded detectives trying to serve him with a subpoena this summer.

Prosecutors told Circuit Judge Jay McAlpin that they could not go forward without their main witness. Hasselman said the state would not force the boy to appear.  McAlpin dismissed the case without prejudice, which means the state could refile charges.

"We're pleased with today's outcome. This is a case that never should have been brought in the first place," Ashton said. "We hope today is the first step in clearing his good name," he said.

Bean has powerful political connections in Oregon and nationally. He was a major fundraiser for President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. Bean and Lawson visited Obama at the White house and flew with him on Air Force One.

Bean, who lives in Southwest Portland, also has been an influential figure in gay rights circles. He helped found two major national political groups, the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

Terms of the civil compromise were secret until Tuesday, when The Oregonian/OregonLive won a motion to unseal a recording of a closed court session July 16 where lawyers discussed the offer.

In addition to the $225,000, Bean agreed to never contact the boy and to undergo testing for sexually transmitted diseases at a clinic chosen by the boy's attorney, Lori Deveny, and provide the results to Deveny.

During the closed session, Ashton said Bean was suffering from prostate cancer and his condition was worsened by the stress of prosecution.

On Tuesday, Ashton blasted the prosecutors' handling of the case.  "In 28 years of trial work, I've never seen a case where facts were ignored in a drive to the spotlight," he said.

Bean was not present in the hotel room when the alleged crimes occurred and Bean had a witness that would support the claim, Ashton said.

Hasselman said the state had a strong case with witnesses who would testify that Bean was present and had sex. "In fact, he was the one who rented the hotel room," Hasselman said.

The boy's version of events never varied, Hasselman said: He gave the same account to two prosecutors, the grand jury, a detective and told a family friend that he engaged in sex with Bean and Lawson.

"He wanted both defendants to take responsibility for this. He was disappointed that they claimed he was lying about this because he was not lying," Hasselman said.

Bean's legal problems may not be over.  As he entered the Lane County Courthouse on Tuesday, Bean was subpoenaed to appear at Lawson's trial next week in Washington County.

A private investigator for Lawson's attorney, Gabriel Biello, tapped Bean on the shoulder then slipped the subpoena into the breast pocket of Bean's jacket.

Lawson faces four counts of sex abuse for allegedly having an intimate encounter with a then-17-year-old boy in June 2013.

That will give special prosecutor Scott Healy, who was handling the Lane County case, a chance to question Bean under oath.

Healy is overseeing an investigation of men who have or may have engaged in sex with underage boys.

The investigation began in Multnomah County and led to the charges against Bean and Lawson in Lane County and against Lawson in Washington County.

The inquiry is ongoing, Healy said.

Original report here


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