Case Lacked Evidence, Jurors Say Sex Abuse Witnesses Unbelievable, Inquiry Not Thorough, Jurors Report

Prosecutors did not have enough evidence against a Pentecostal preacher and his wife who were accused of sexually abusing children in their East Wenatchee home and church, several jurors say.

Prosecution witnesses either weren’t believable or their claims lacked corroboration, said four jurors interviewed Tuesday by The Wenatchee World.

The Douglas County Superior Court jury acquitted unordained pastor Robert “Roby” Roberson and his wife, Connie, on Monday of all 14 charges of child rape and molestation after a four-week trial.

Jury foreman David Fruit, an orchardist from Orondo, Wash., said he had numerous concerns about the charges.

“It may be that these are difficult charges to try,” Fruit said. “I don’t know how the rules of evidence work. But we didn’t feel that the prosecution had any credible witnesses to any significant charges.

“Look at who the witnesses were, the people who were testifying directly to the charges. You have a convicted felon (Gary Filbeck), who cut a deal for his testimony. And his testimony didn’t make sense at all.

“You had three little girls who had been the victims of abuse of other people and had been through lots and lots of repetitious interviews with law enforcement and CPS workers and had become very, very invested in the story.

“We don’t think they knew the truth anymore. There was no one to directly back them up.”

Juror Wes Olinger of East Wenatchee, a Canon copiers salesman for Automated Office Systems, agreed.

“If the investigators had spent just a little bit of energy and just interviewed other people from the church … I don’t think this case would have been brought forward. If it had been investigated further, the charges would never have been brought,” Olinger said.

Another issue for jurors, Fruit said, was that Douglas County Prosecutor Steve Clem “didn’t seem to know what he was doing” and that part of his closing argument was offensive.

“He said in court it’s his responsibility to find the truth that would exonerate the innocent as well as convict the guilty,” Fruit said. “It seems he didn’t do that. His prosecution in this was pretty inept. In his closing, I think he was insulting to the defendants and the church.”

Fruit said he was offended by Clem’s references to a stain at the church that state police said contained a bodily fluid. Among the possibilities Clem suggested was urine from a church member.

Douglas County Sheriff Dan LaRoche said the investigation was conducted properly and that detectives interviewed several people who corroborated information received from Wenatchee police, the lead agency in the sex-ring investigations.

“I think juries traditionally have a difficult time believing sex abuse occurs,” LaRoche said. “I think we did everything that was possible. We’re going to continue to investigate sex abuse cases.

Deliberations didn’t take long, Fruit said. On Friday night, 10 jurors agreed the Robersons were innocent of all charges and two voted they might be guilty of at least one charge.

“On discussion, we really found it wasn’t that anybody felt (the Robersons) were guilty of anything, but a couple of people voted that way to have more discussion,” Fruit said.

On Monday, “not guilty” votes on each count were unanimous on the first try, Fruit said.