More women accuse policeman.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

Fired Eugene police officer Roger Eugene Magana forced or tried to force at least 11 women to perform sex acts while he was on patrol working the night shift over the past six years and preyed on those least likely to report him, police and court documents released Thursday allege.

Three more women have come forward since Magana's arrest, interim police Chief Thad Buchanan said.

Police also acknowledged for the first time that Magana helped train another police officer who faces similar charges, but still said they have no concrete evidence that either man knew about the other's alleged activities.

"I can't say we've found any evidence that clearly links the two," Buchanan said. "It's certainly possible, but at this point, I can't say that we've been able to establish that as fact."

Investigators are aware of the officers' past relationship and are looking into it, police spokeswoman Pam Olshanski said.

Magana, 40, pleaded not guilty to 29 charges ranging from sex abuse to kidnapping during a brief court appearance at the Lane County Jail.

An indictment describes alleged sexual assault and abuse of power by Magana since September 1997 through June of this year involving 11 women.

The investigation of Magana began June 10, when a 50-year-old woman called police and reported that the officer had forced his way into her apartment in uniform and carrying his pistol. He sexually assaulted and physically harassed the woman, the indictment says.

Magana contacted the women as he patrolled the streets at night, Buchanan said. To avoid detection, he used his portable radio to monitor other officers' activity and to ensure that he maintained communication with dispatchers, the chief said.

"He's able to stay apprised of what's happening on the street and make himself available if he has to be," Buchanan said. "That also means it gives him an opportunity to do things of his own choosing between calls."

Some of the women he is accused of assaulting had histories of prostitution, drug use or mental health issues, police said. Others had no record.

"There appears to have been careful consideration in victim selection, choosing victims that would not appear to be credible, who themselves would not feel they would be credible up against a uniformed police officer, and who also in many cases may not even trust the police," Buchanan said.

"If there is any good thing that has come out of this, it is the fact that we were able to show those women that they do matter, that we did believe them and that this department does in fact represent their interests and their rights the same as anyone else," he said.

Magana faces charges including sexual abuse, second-degree kidnapping, attempted sodomy, harassment, coercion and official misconduct. He remains jailed on $500,000 security. He was fired last month.

Magana's wife, mother and lawyer refused to comment after the arraignment Thursday.

Attorney Brian Barnes has said in the past that his client is the victim of a department smear campaign and that he ultimately will be exonerated.

Magana served as field-training officer for Juan Francisco Lara, 29, who joined the department in January 2000. Lara also worked graveyard, alone in his own patrol car.

Lara pleaded not guilty last month to 10 counts of sexual assault, coercion, official misconduct and public indecency. He was fired Wednesday.

Information about when the men worked together was not available late Thursday. A rookie officer might work with several field trainers before graduating to solo work.

A gag order bars Lara and his attorney, Dan Koenig, from discussing the allegations against Lara. Koenig has said that any contact between his client and the women was consensual and not criminal.

One of Magana's alleged victims, a woman with a history of arrests for prostitution and other crimes, said in an interview that the pair stopped her at least three times before the summer of 2001. The newspaper generally does not publish the names of victims in sex crime investigations.

She said they questioned her, entered her name in their patrol computer and searched her, patting her down despite her requests for a female officer. The officers told her no female officers were available, she said.

The woman said the searches were never sexual in nature. "They did it just like a female officer would do it," she said. Nevertheless, she said she thought the searches were "weird" but she didn't question the men because she was on probation at the time.

Later, in the summer of 2001, Magana stopped her as she walked on a dark street, she said. He was alone, and he told her to get into the front passenger seat of his patrol car, she said. Inside the car, he threatened to arrest her for prostitution unless she performed oral sex, she said.

The woman said the officer grabbed her head and forced it toward his lap and his unbuckled belt. She said she fought him off, struggled with the car door and ran away, avoiding her home for two hours for fear that he would find her there.

She never reported the assault, but she said she told other women about the attack. She only contacted police after she was subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury, she said.

"Who are they going to believe - one of their own or a girl on the street?" she said.