Crime and punishment.

Byline: The Register-Guard

"What would Jesus do?" is more than a pop-religious bumper sticker to Pastor Greg Flint and members of Eugene's First Congregational Church. When they searched their hearts for answers to that question in connection with a parishioner facing a prison sentence - former Eugene policeman Juan Lara - they concluded Jesus would seek healing rather than punishment.

It's hard to challenge such an admirable example of a pastor joining with his congregation to put Christian principles of forgiveness and redemption into practice. But in the hard-hearted world of human-administered justice, the court was right to decline the church's compassionate proposal that it would supervise Lara's community service so he could avoid going to prison.

Led by Flint, members of the liberal south Eugene church wrote letters to Lane County Circuit Judge Charles Carlson saying they would require Lara to attend spiritual growth meetings and make face-to-face amends to his victims in a program called restorative justice.

It was an unprecedented effort on behalf of a church member, all the more noteworthy in view of Lara's convictions for coercing sex from women while in uniform and on duty. The 30-year-old father of two pleaded guilty in January to three counts of official misconduct and one count of public indecency. Using a legal device called an Alford plea, the court then entered guilty pleas on his behalf on another count of official misconduct, four counts of coercion and one count of harassment.

Beneath the legal mumbo jumbo was this: The women who testified against Lara told terrifying stories of being stalked, coerced into sexual contact and harassed if they rebuffed his advances. They said the abuse they suffered at his hands destroyed their self-confidence, left them fearful of police officers, damaged their relationships with friends and family and caused them physical, psychological and emotional trauma.

Judge Carlson heard the testimony for and against Lara. He could not help but be moved by the support of Lara's family, friends and church. He read the letters, like the one from church member Tracy Lampman that described Lara as "a man who has taken ownership of his mistakes, who is remorseful for the pain and shame his actions have brought on his profession and family, and who is working very hard to change the brokenness in his life."

And then Carlson sentenced Lara to five years and eight months in prison. But it most likely was not because he doubted the sincerity of Pastor Flint and the First Congregational Church's belief in restorative justice.

In all likelihood, the judge's sentence was designed to restore some of the dignity Lara's victims lost to his abuse, to restore some faith in Eugene's law enforcement profession lost to a uniformed predator and to restore an understanding within the ranks of police officers everywhere that behavior like Juan Francisco Lara's will never go unpunished.

In the best of worlds, Lara will be able to serve his sentence restored by the knowledge that he and his family will have the support of the First Congregational Church when he comes home.