2020. 3. 11. 07:18ㆍ카테고리 없음
- College Roommate Exposed Portland Gay Mens Clubs 2017
- College Roommate Exposed Portland Gay Mens Clubs Near Me
Kiah Lawson A Washington County jury acquitted Kiah Lawson of sex abuse charges Friday after a trial that was as much about his ex-boyfriend - prominent gay activist and wealthy real estate developer Terry Bean - as it was about him. Lawson was accused of having a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy in June 2013. Defense attorney Gabriel Biello said Lawson was targeted for retaliation by Bean and that Bean had manipulated witnesses to help build the case against Lawson.
College Roommate Exposed Portland Gay Mens Clubs 2017
Biello told jurors that the two main prosecution witnesses - the alleged victim and Lawson's roommate, Nicholas Bekken - were beholden to Bean and had a motive to deceive or give misleading testimony. '(Bean) uses his money to buy people,' Biello told the jury.
'He uses his money to get what he wants. He used his money to get Kiah Lawson accused of a crime he didn't commit.' Jurors said the testimony was convoluted and that they didn't believe Bekken or the teenage accuser. They also questioned Bean's role in the case. 'There was a lot of intrigue behind the scenes. It felt like Mr.
Bean was a puppet master,' said juror Betty Polson. In his closing argument, prosecutor Scott Healy conceded that jurors might not believe some testimony. 'Arguably, everyone in this case.
Has credibility issues. However, on the issue of whether the defendant had sex with the underage victim, the testimony is credible,' Healy said. The case against Lawson was rooted in Lawson's brief romantic relationship with Bean that turned toxic last year. In particular, Bean was angry about Lawson's role in a June 2014 Willamette Week expose that laid out unsavory allegations about both of them, Bekken said. Lawson alleged in the article that Bean was secretly making videos of sexual trysts with Lawson and other men that occurred in Bean's bedroom. Bean accused Lawson of extortion and other crimes. Bean took his concerns to the Multnomah County district attorney.
But the move instead resulted in an ongoing investigation that resulted in criminal charges - allegations of sex with underage males - against four men, including Lawson in Washington County and against Bean and Lawson in a. Bean, who lives in Portland, helped found two major national political groups, the and the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, and has been a major contributor for several Democratic presidential candidates, including Barack Obama. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Lawson said he met the Washington County boy, now 19, through an app, Jack'd, used by gay men primarily for finding nearby sex partners. Lawson and the boy exchanged messages in April 2013 but didn't meet until a month later when they attended a party at the condo of a mutual friend, according to court testimony. In June, Lawson, his roommate, the teen and others were at a downtown Portland bar celebrating Gay Pride Week on a Thursday night. They all met later at Lawson's Beaverton apartment around 1:30 a.m., Lawson and the alleged victim testified. The teenager testified that he and Lawson engaged in oral sex a few hours later. Lawson denied any sexual involvement.
The teen said Lawson introduced him to Bean in October 2013 outside a downtown Portland gay strip club. The boy and Bean later exchanged messages and sexually explicit photos, he said. He wanted to replace Lawson as Bean's romantic interest, the teen said.
Lawson was being financially supported by Bean at the time and receiving expensive gifts, the teen said. '(Lawson) was being spoiled by Terry,' he said. '(I wanted) to see if I could be spoiled by Terry.' The teen said he intended to have a sexual relationship with Bean, 65 at the time, but never did because Bean asked to see his identification. The teen said he tried a similar arrangement with a New York man he referred to as a potential 'sugar daddy' and referred to himself as a one-time 'gold digger.' Until recently, he said, he had been paid $17.25 an hour by Bean to do odd jobs, such as grocery shopping, polishing silverware and picking up dry cleaning.
He also lived in Bean's Hayden Island condo rent-free for three weeks. Bekken, Lawson's roommate, said Bean had asked him to 'keep tabs' on Lawson. He also admitted that he had used one of Bean's credit cards without permission and had received financial support from Bean.
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Bekken provided a key piece of prosecution evidence: a candid photo of Lawson and the teenager in bed on the morning of the alleged sexual encounter. However, Bekken cropped out a third person also in the bed: a man romantically linked to the teen. He did not tell investigators about the omission until shortly before the trial.
Bean was subpoenaed to testify at the trial but Circuit Judge Janelle Factora Wipper ruled Thursday that Bean did not have to appear. Before Wipper's ruling, and outside the presence of the jury, Bean was questioned by Lawson's attorney. Bean cited his Fifth Amendment rights in response to each question. 'Terry followed my advice and asserted his legal right not to answer questions in this case,' said Derek Ashton, Bean's attorney. 'There were a lot of accusations thrown around in court,' Ashton said. 'It is important to keep in mind that it was Kiah Lawson on trial here, not Terry,' Ashton said.
Steve Mayes 503-294-5916.