OREGON
KOIN
[with video]
By Brent Weisberg (Twitter: @BrentKOIN)
Published: April 14, 2015
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN 6) – The trial of a senior pastor for the North Clackamas Bible Community reportedly linked to sex crimes began on Tuesday as prosecutors outlined their case during opening statements at the Multnomah County Circuit Courthouse.
Pastor Michael Sperou, 64, walked confidently into Judge Cheryl A. Albrecht’s courtroom Tuesday morning wearing a white dress shirt, dress pants and a tie. He has remained out of custody since posting bail pending trial. He was arrested June 19, 2014 by federal officers.
Deputy district attorney Christine Mascal told the jury that “Pastor Mike,” as he is known in his church, “controlled everything and everybody.” She outlined the “tortured history” and years of alleged sexual touching at the hands of Sperou.
Sperou is charged with three counts of unlawful sexual penetration in the first-degree. The alleged abuse occurred three separate times between May 1995 and December 1996, Mascal said. Police identified a total of seven victims who made claims against Sperou, Mascal said. The statute of limitations has expired for six of those people.
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