County Crime Victims Get An Advocate Program Helps Victims Prepare For Court And Get On With Lives

Last December, the moment Marcia Dailey had dreaded for months finally arrived.

The 50-year-old woman stepped up to the witness stand in a Spokane courtroom and spent two hours testifying against the man who raped her last summer.

Yards away, the man who left her gagged and tied to a tree watched in silence as his lawyer questioned her.

To steady herself, Dailey looked often at a dark-haired woman seated in the back of the courtroom - Gwen Cordova.

Three days later, a jury convicted 29-year-old Brian Anderson of rape, burglary and kidnapping. He received an exceptional sentence of 41 years in prison.

Dailey’s controlled, detailed testimony about being awakened one morning as she slept in her truck, then raped and threatened with a knife was the key reason for Anderson’s conviction, jurors said later.

Cordova never said a word to jurors but as a victim advocate, she played a significant role in making sure justice was done.

The county’s six victim advocates fill the role of helping victims and other witnesses prepare for court, giving prosecutors a little more margin for victory in their cases.

“Victim testimony is almost always hard and stressful. It’s even harder in rape cases,” said Deputy Prosecutor Ed Hay, who prosecuted Dailey’s attacker.

“Gwen helped a lot, by making sure Marcia knew what was expected, what would happen in court and sitting there, adding that extra element of security for her.”

Some advocates find their relationship with the victim continues after the trial.

That’s true for Cordova and Dailey, who stay in frequent contact.

Last week, Dailey, who lives in Stevens County, learned she lost a job she was counting on with the plumber’s apprenticeship program.

Cordova, who took courses in psychology at Eastern Washington University before joining the prosecutor’s office more than a year ago, has been making calls, trying to find work for Dailey.

Her background includes experience with computers and office management.

“But I’d rather work outside, with my hands,” said Dailey, who wished to be identified, waiving the usual confidentiality afforded rape victims.

Paid victim advocates have been a part of Spokane County’s prosecutor’s office since 1990.

Until 1995, the county had two advocates, whose main job was to send out letters informing victims of coming court appearances. In cases involving major crimes, the advocates met victims in person prior to trial or court appearances.

Two years ago, with the help of a number of grants, Spokane County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser increased the number of trained advocates to six.

They were encouraged to make contact earlier and more often with victims in order to build rapport and establish a clearer vision of what services the county could offer.

“The job is pretty much to be a broker of services - doing whatever might be needed to help victims restore their lives,” said Tim O’Brien, community affairs manager for the prosecutor’s office.

Not every victim feels comforted and supported, O’Brien acknowledged.

One 1996 crime victim, assaulted by a former roommate, asked for help from a county advocate in correcting police reports taken at her house. The reports said the attack was the result of a lesbian quarrel.

In fact, the former housemate and the victim were not lesbians, but police accepted without question the description they got from the person who broke into the victim’s house.

“The advocate just couldn’t be bothered sorting this out. I gave up after I realized nothing was going to be done for me,” said the victim, who asked not to be identified.

“We’re not miracle workers,” said O’Brien. “Sometimes victims just want to use us as a punching bag because they’re angry at how the justice system works.”

Cordova and the other full-time victim advocates - Allan Kellogg, Daneka Keith, Linda Carter, Terry Garcia and Maggie Dieter - make between $9.28 to $12.52 an hour.

That’s not enough, O’Brien said. He thinks the job should be on a salary par with professional counselors and therapists.

Sweetser agrees the advocates ought to be making more. “But nearly everyone in our office - deputies, secretaries, paralegals - are working extremely hard and are not paid enough,” he said.

One recent change by the state Legislature recognizes that crime victim advocacy programs deserve more money than they get.

For the past six years, court-ordered fines and penalties collected from lawbreakers had to be spent in the county under a formula that gives less than two cents out of each dollar to programs benefitting victims.

A revised formula that took effect last July 1 allows 34 percent of that money to go to the programs.

O’Brien hopes the money can be used to help advocates assist more elderly victims of crime.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo