Jury Selection Under Way In Child Sex Ring Case Pastor Robert Roberson And His Wife, Connie, Are Accused Having Sex With Children

Jury selection began Tuesday in the child-rape and molestation trials of a Pentecostal preacher and his wife, who are accused of participating in a child sex ring.

Pastor Robert “Roby” Roberson and his wife, Connie, are accused of having sex with children in their East Wenatchee home and church.

Roby Roberson is charged with four counts of first-degree child rape, five counts of first-degree child molestation and one count of second-degree child molestation. Connie Roberson is charged with two counts of first-degree child rape and five counts of first-degree child molestation.

Both deny the accusations. They contend the charges are an attempt to squelch their criticism of authorities’ motives and methods in the sex-ring investigation.

Twenty-eight adults have been charged since last fall with participating in what authorities describe as two loosely organized sex rings in operation since 1988.

Five of the cases have resulted in convictions and 11 defendants have pleaded guilty to felony charges. One person was acquitted and charges against two others were dismissed. Two people pleaded guilty to misdemeanors.

Cases against seven people, including the Robersons, are pending.

Affidavits from children and from some adults who confessed to participation in the sex rings say Roberson sometimes used sermons to whip his flock into a sexual frenzy. He once called a teenage girl up to the altar and had sex with her there, telling the faithful he was driving out the devil, statements allege.

Media interest in the trial has been intense, prompting Douglas County Superior Court Judge T.W. “Chip” Small to ban cameras and recording equipment from the courtroom during testimony. He also is requiring reporters to check in with court personnel before entering the courtroom each day.

Roberson calls the investigations a witch hunt, and claims there is no physical evidence any of the children were sexually molested.

But doctors have testified at other trials they found sexual scarring and tearing on all of the girls and many of the boys involved in the cases.

Prosecutor Steve Clem will not discuss the case until the trial is over, his secretary said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in Wenatchee, a foster parent accused of participating in the sex rings filed a $2 million claim Monday against the city, police Chief Ken Badgley and sex crimes Detective Bob Perez, claiming his civil rights were violated.

Robert Devereaux’s claim marks the first step toward suing a governmental entity. If the claim is rejected, then a lawsuit can be filed.

Devereaux, 51, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors in September, when prosecutors dropped five counts of first-degree rape of a child, four counts of child molestation and two counts of intimidating a witness.

City Attorney Pat McMahon said he expected the issue to go to U.S. District Court in Spokane.

“We’re going to vigorously defend it. We think this claim is without merit, baseless and motivated by nothing more than greed,” McMahon said.

“You have to give some deference to Gary’s (Chelan County Prosecutor Gary Riesen’s) office and what they’ve done and emphasize that their record speaks for itself,” he said.

“I’m not going to second-guess his decision to do a plea bargain on a criminal case, but that’s a far cry from Mr. Devereaux’s allegations that somehow his constitutional rights have been deprived.”

Devereaux was a single foster parent in a group home when he was accused of child rape in August 1994. Initially, the allegations involved two children, one of whom recanted the next day. Later, five other children and four adults made statements accusing Devereaux of participating in and hosting group sex sessions with children and adults.

But by September all of the adults and two of the children had recanted their statements, and the remaining children had conflicting stories about the abuse and how it occurred.