Wenatchee loses appeal in child sex rings case

A state Court of Appeals panel has upheld a judge’s sanctions against the city of Wenatchee for failing to disclose key information about the lead investigator in the city’s notorious child sex rings investigations.

The three-judge panel on Tuesday found no merit in the city’s contention that it did not withhold information from people who sued after they were acquitted in the now-discredited investigations.

The panel upheld a January 2003 ruling by Spokane County Superior Court Judge Michael Donohue, who fined the city $718,000 and restored a civil rights lawsuit over the handling of the 1994-95 child sex abuse investigation.

“We’re very pleased with the decision,” said Tyler Firkins, a lawyer with Van Siclen & Stocks of Auburn, who represents several of the plaintiffs.

“We believe that the Court of Appeals strongly stated and agreed with Judge Donohue that the city intentionally withheld documents in violation of the judge’s orders of discovery,” Firkins said. “We feel the plaintiffs have been vindicated by this decision.”

The city has 20 days to petition the appellate court to review Tuesday’s decision, or appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The city’s attorney, Patrick McMahon, said Wednesday officials had not decided whether to appeal.

The appeals panel ruled Donohue did not err when he fined the city for withholding employment records of former Wenatchee Police Detective Bob Perez in lawsuits stemming from the cases.

The judge said the records were important and could have changed the outcome of the civil rights cases.

The panel also upheld Donohue’s vacating two earlier jury verdicts, allowing a new civil rights trial to be brought by East Wenatchee Pastor Robert “Roby” Roberson, former Sunday school teacher Honnah Sims and others.

The ruling also restored Perez and former Wenatchee Police Chief Ken Badgley as potential defendants in any new litigation. They had been dismissed from personal liability during the two earlier civil trials.

The appellate court ruled the violation was substantial, and the withheld files were “material to the plaintiffs’ fair presentation of their case at the time of trial.”

The 1994-95 investigations led to the arrests of at least 60 adults for investigation of child sexual abuse in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee.

Of 26 who were convicted, 18 had their convictions overturned or accepted plea agreements to lesser charges. Four served out their sentences, three received suspended sentences and one remains in prison.