Abuser sentenced to 6 years.Byline: BILL BISHOP The Register-Guard A Springfield man described by a prosecutor as "a predatory wolf in good Samaritan's clothing" was sentenced Thursday to six years in prison for sexually abusing troubled young girls he picked up on the streets. Larry LaVerne Mann, 51, was arrested in August on allegations that he abused 11 girls ranging from 14 to 18 years old. He originally faced 35 charges, including several carrying long mandatory Measure 11 prison terms. In a negotiated settlement, Mann was convicted on three counts of second-degree sexual abuse, two counts of furnishing alcohol to minors and one count of delivering drugs to a minor. The settlement spared Mann from possibly spending the rest of his life in prison on Measure 11 charges of rape and sexual abuse had he been convicted in a trial, defense lawyer Gary Deal Gary Deal (born April 2 1940) was a weightlifter for the United States. Weightlifting achievements
Deputy Lane County District Attorney Mike Pugh said almost all the girls were using drugs, were in trouble with the law or were alienated al·ien·ate tr.v. al·ien·at·ed, al·ien·at·ing, al·ien·ates 1. To cause to become unfriendly or hostile; estrange: alienate a friend; alienate potential supporters by taking extreme positions. from their families when Mann approached them on the streets of Eugene and Springfield to offer them rides, food, clothing and other support. Many of the girls were so familiar with Mann that they would phone him to ask for rides, Pugh said. He frequently provided marijuana marijuana or marihuana, drug obtained from the flowering tops, stems, and leaves of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa (see hemp) or C. indica; the latter species can withstand colder climates. and alcohol to the girls and invited them to go hot tubbing tub n. 1. a. An open, flat-bottomed vessel, usually round and typically wider than it is deep, used for washing, packing, or storing. b. The amount that such a vessel can hold. c. with him, Pugh said. The victims reported that Mann was "very forward" in seeking sexual favors sexual favor Any sexual act occurring in an employee-employer relationship, exchanged for privileged treatment in a workplace, ↑ salary, career advancement. See Sexual bribery, Sexual harassment. in return, he said. "He was an individual who painted himself as a good Samaritan Good Samaritan man who helped half-dead victim of thieves after a priest and a Levite had “passed by.” [N.T.: Luke 10:33] See : Helpfulness Good Samaritan ," Pugh told Circuit Judge Karsten Rasmussen. "He was, in fact, a predatory wolf in good Samaritan's clothing." But Deal said the case would have been difficult to prosecute because jurors might have questioned the credibility of the girls based on their criminal conduct, drug use and inconsistent stories. For example, he said the girl who accused Mann of raping her gave police three completely different stories about who attacked her and how she was attacked. Deal said Mann, a computer programmer, spent a lot of his own money helping start volleyball and softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' programs for area youths. "A lot of his effort was trying to help these girls," Deal said. "He did get into some compromising positions. He knows that." |
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