City settles lawsuits over police abuse.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

The city of Eugene has settled the first two of 13 civil lawsuits filed by women who were sexually assaulted by two former police officers now serving prison sentences for their crimes.

The city on Thursday paid one woman $667,000 to settle her claim that, among other things, the city was negligent in hiring and supervising Roger Eugene Magana, 42, who currently is serving a 94-year prison sentence after his conviction last year for sexually abusing more than a dozen women on the job.

A second woman was awarded $75,000 for abuse she suffered at the hands of Juan Francisco Lara, 31, now serving more than five years in prison for coercion, official misconduct, public indecency and harassment for using his job to coerce women into sex acts.

City Manager Dennis Taylor said the city hopes to settle all of the suits to spare the victims the pain of going through yet another trial.

Because the city is self-insured, each department pays into a risk services fund based on its potential exposure to liability, Taylor said. The city began setting money aside when the officers were indicted two years ago in anticipation of civil payouts. The settlements were paid with that money, Taylor said.

"No amount of money can undo what happened to these women," he said. "We thought it would be in both our interest to forgo the emotional and financial cost of a trial and allow these women to move forward with their lives."

The city also has made settlement offers to 11 other people who have filed similar suits in federal court. Those cases are still being negotiated. Trial is scheduled for July 2006.

Portland-based attorney Elden Rosenthal, who represents the women who accepted Thursday's settlements, said in a telephone interview that he already had received the checks on behalf of his clients.

"By standing up to the city of Eugene, these two brave women have done a tremendous service to the entire community," Rosenthal said in a statement. "Eugene should never again assume that a badge or a uniform or a gun gives them the right or ability to escape the consequences of illegal actions. No police officer is above the law.

"Although no amount of money can return to these women what was taken away from them, these settlements do acknowledge the very real injuries they suffered, and these settlements will allow them to continue their healing.'

The first woman, 41, sued the city for $6.8 million after Magana was convicted in Lane County Circuit Court of kidnapping, sodomy, sexual abuse, coercion and official misconduct involving her.

She said Magana sexually assaulted her at least 16 times over the course of several years and once pressed his handgun against her exposed genitals and said he would "blow her insides out" if she told anyone what he was doing. She eventually fled the area.

The second woman, 37, said Lara parked his patrol car in her neighborhood so frequently that her neighbors began calling him the "stalker cop." She said he tried to force her to perform oral sex when she invited him into her home so she could ask him to stop harassing her.

Lara was convicted of coercion in her case. She did not name a damage amount.

Magana was transferred to an out-of-state prison in January. Oregon Department of Corrections spokeswoman Perrin Damon said he is in protective custody because of his status as a former police officer, and his current location is a secret. His release date is May 4, 2098.

Lara is an inmate at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario. His release date is Sept. 4, 2008.