Foster Parent Sues In Sex-Ring Case

A Wenatchee foster parent accused of participating in child sex rings is suing state and city officials, claiming his civil rights were violated.

Robert Devereaux filed a $2 million claim in November against the city, police Chief Ken Badgley and sex crimes Detective Bob Perez. In his lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court, Devereaux asks for compensatory and punitive damages.

His lawsuit names Badgley, Perez, the state Department of Social and Health Services and four of its employees, and Earl Tilly, Wenatchee’s public safety commissioner.

Devereaux was a single, foster parent in a group home when he was accused of child rape in August 1994. Devereaux pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of assault and rendering criminal assistance in September, and prosecutors dropped several other counts.

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.

Devereaux was among more than two dozen adults charged with participating in what Wenatchee authorities describe as two loosely organized sex rings in operation since 1988.

, DataTimes