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	Church, State Sued in Abuse Claim By Alan Gustafson Statesman Journal May 12, 2009 http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20090512/NEWS/905120354/1001 One-time foster child says former deacon molested and raped her for years A civil lawsuit brought against a Salem church and the state of Oregon seeks $36 million in damages for a woman who claims she was sexually abused during childhood by a former church deacon. While she was a foster child in state care, the plaintiff repeatedly was molested and raped during the late 1980s and 1990s, the lawsuit says. It says the girl's foster mother belonged to the church where the abuse occurred. The sexual abuse started when the girl was 3 and lasted until she was 14, according to the suit. Named as defendants are the South Salem Church of Christ and the Oregon Department of Human Services. The civil suit, filed last week in Marion County Circuit Court, identifies ex-church deacon Robert Oakes as the girl's abuser. It says Oakes molested and raped the girl in his car, during his church janitorial duties, at youth events he supervised and in the women's bathroom at the church. "Oakes regularly threatened plaintiff with physical harm, informing her that she was doing 'God's work' by abiding by his requests and telling plaintiff she would go to hell if she told anyone about the abuse and rapes," the suit says. Oakes was convicted of raping several underage girls at the church and now is an inmate at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Eastern Oregon, according to the suit. Prison records indicate that Oakes, 64, has a projected prison release date of June 1, 2026. The sexual-abuse lawsuit alleges that the church failed to adequately supervise Oakes during his time as a deacon, volunteer janitor and youth leader. It says the state failed to protect the girl from sexual predation. Two telephone calls to the South Salem Church of Christ were not answered Monday. Tony Green, a spokesman for the state attorney general's office, which defends state agenices against lawsuits, said he can't comment about pending litigation. As a result of being sexually abused as a child, the plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer physical and emotional pain, sexual dysfunction and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the lawsuit. It also says that she lost her faith in the church and her own spirituality. It is the Statesman Journal's policy not to name victims of sexual abuse. The suit says the plaintiff repressed much of her experience with Oakes. It says she did not discover the link between being sexually abused as a child and her adult mental anguish until years later. Oregon law allows victims of sexual abuse to file civil lawsuits as long as three years after discovering the effect of abuse on their lives. In some cases, that can mean years, or decades, later. The theory behind the law is that victims of sexual abuse might partially or completely bury traumatic offenses against them as children but recover the repressed memories later. Contact: agustafs@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6709
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