Retracted and Redacted- A Comparison of Two Oregon 'Criminals'

A crime is a crime, unless it involves a state official with ties to law enforcement.

Terrrence Kimble and John Minnis

(SALEM) - We have written several stories about an Oregon prison inmate named Terrence Kimble who is serving a 19-year sentence for a retracted Sex Abuse allegation. He was convicted in Lane County, Oregon, in the wildest case anyone has ever imagined. 19-years is far longer than most people serve, even for Murder. Many of Oregon's convicted killers are paroled after seven years, Kimble has already served ten years. Either way you look at it, Kimble, an African-American, was sent to prison for an extraordinarily long time.

A few years ago, we covered the investigation against a state official named John Minnis. He is a former Oregon legislator who had taken the top position at the state's police training facility, where his adulterous sexual antics cost Oregon taxpayers $385,000. Minnis received a slap on the wrist for engaging in sexual acts with his subordinate. Each incident happened after she passed out from alcohol he encouraged her to drink. He lost his super high paying state job, he was not prosecuted, and the so-called 'case' against him is a mockery of justice, just as the case against Kimble is.

From the report: State Prison Whistle- blower Says DOC is Blocking Federal Mail

This matter came to our attention when we began following the story of William Coleman, a former Corrections Officer at the Oregon State Penitentiary who filed a federal Whistleblower case against Oregon for Civil Rights violations, and then became the victim of what he calls "severe retaliation", when he was quickly arrested and charged with felony charges of 'contraband smuggling'. Coleman faced 40 years in prison if convicted, he took his case to jury trial and won a unanimous not guilty verdict from a jury.

From the report: Getting Refamiliarized with the Murder of Michael Francke

Coleman says his battles were against many of the same officials most likely involved in the 1989 Murder of Corrections Chief Michael Francke, who had just completed a year-long investigation into corruption in Oregon prisons. He was three days away from giving testimony over his findings, when he was found Murdered on the steps of the Oregon Dept. of Corrections building, known in Salem as the 'Dome Building'. A petty thief and drug addict named Frank Gable was convicted of the crime, when it was literally impossible for him to have been the culprit, supposedly attacking and overpowering Francke, a Navy SEAL in the Vietnam War, by himself to steal Francke's wallet.

The case makes Oregon stand out among other state legal systems, as this story was carried by 'America's Most Wanted'' after it was adjudicated. By any standard this is unheard of, pursuing a case with a convicted man rotting in prison, without giving Oregon's ridiculous story any merit. Michael Francke nearly fixed this place, but he was killed before he could do so, quite savagely too. There is even a movie about it, available on Netflix called 'Without Evidence' starring Angelina Jolie.

The former Governor of Oregon, Neal Goldschmidt, was in office when Francke was Murdered. He has since been outed as being a pedophile over a long relationship with a teenage babysitter who came forward in recent years. During this time, Goldschmidt was the Mayor of Portland and it was later proven that other state officials, like Bernie Guisto, the former Multnomah County Sheriff, knew all about it but never said anything. During this time period, when Goldschmidt was Mayor of Portland, Minnis was a Portland Police detective, he was with the Portland Police Bureau for 27 years prior to being elected to the Senate in 1985. Nobody could ever say he didn't end up with the best and most respected job a cop could land in this state, however it didn't interest him at all, compared to the way his administrative assistant did.

Terrence Kimble In Kimble's case, the victim, a teenage girl, told a friend she was raped, that friend told her dad, who was a police officer. Police quickly moved and arrested Kimble, during which he suffered a well-documented assault from police officers that required his transportation to an emergency room for treatment, during the arrest. The girl, Kimble's step daughter, was taken to a hospital in Eugene where she told doctors she had not been raped. A physical examination revealed the girl had never engaged in sex, there was no DNA from Kimble, and there was no bruising or other signs of abuse, the doctors said the girl joked with them. Terrence Kimble was taken to court and charged with first degree rape of a minor, even though the victim told doctors she hadn't been raped, in spite of the fact that there was no evidence. Even the family of the victim stood by Kimble throughout his ordeal, none of it made any difference. The judge was noted saying that he would have convicted Kimble of first-degree Rape, it was the judge's first sex-oriented criminal case and Kimble's attorney at the time, James Rice, who today is an attorney with the city of Portland, Oregon, says sentences of that length are typically reserved for cases involving egregious circumstances. Kimble is African-American. He grew up in California, was in trouble as a young man, and then found his way out of that lifestyle and was such a productive and successful individual that he gave talks to young people about life choices. One of his closest friends in California is a junior high school principle. None of this mattered when he went to court, the prosecution pressed a bogus case and used Kimble's prior record from his earlier years to assault his present-day character. Kimble believed the girl made the allegation because he was overly-restrictive as a step father; he didn't allow the girl to stay out late, etc. The allegation certainly removed the restrictions he imposed on her. Without any evidence, only hearsay and a withdrawn accusation, Kimble was convicted of sex abuse and sentenced to 19 years in state prison. Terrence Kimble's case has been presented to the Oregon Attorney General's Office, and more recently the Oregon Governor, John Kitzhaber, who had no interest in bringing relief to this case, which is a shame and an extension of the lack of integrity in Oregon's justice system.

John Minnis I came to know John Minnis as a republican legislator in the Oregon capitol, when I worked for KATU Channel-2 News in the Salem bureau. Minnis was a far-right wing politician along with his wife Karen, and at one point they were dubbed, the "most powerful duo in the Oregon Legislature." I didn't 'get to know' Minnis in the traditional sense, I just recorded and sometimes conducted TV interviews with him about different political items. Minnis was a police officer in Oregon for a long time, and eventually he came to head the agency that trains all police officers here. It is really something to consider as you read this story and learn of the real background of this top Oregon leader. The bottom line is that, according to one very large investigation against him conducted by Oregon State Police, and a half million dollar lawsuit that taxpayers paid for his sexual escapades. Minnis had a 'thing' for his administrative assistant, and she did not have a similar feeling in return. This did not have any impact on a situation that grew increasingly worse according to testimony, and I seriously doubt that every person in that building known as DPSST (Dept. of Public Safety Standards and Training) didn't know about his improper behavior. Of course in this timeframe the Marion County Sheriff was engaged in a romantic relationship with another law enforcement official's wife, that cost him his career; it is all a bunch of garbage when the area's top law enforcement officials are a bunch of carousers and adulterers. Yes, Minnis is married to Karen, remember? The top cops are a disappointment in this state, and we're just scratching the surface a little bit here. Minnis headed the DPSST's brand new 'campus' that cost millions and millions of dollars to build. The victim in a case against Minnis was awarded $450,000 in a settlement with the state. Minnis has to pick up on $65,000 and the remaining $385,000 is from the state's risk management account. "My wife's gonna freakin' shoot me" was the quote from Minnis that Willamette Week ran. Those sure don't sound like the words of an innocent man. The thing is, this guy was a hardcore sexual harassment perv who would not give the young woman who worked for him a rest, he apparently never hesitated to make a move on her and had no interest in following the rules he was training police officers to follow.

In the investigation, Minnis was under suspicion for providing alcohol to an adult female subordinate and making unwelcome sexual advances against her.

This is a case where Minnis was, oddly enough, not prosecuted by the Oregon Dept. of Justice, but the Bureau of Labor and Industries, took it on and fought for the woman victim. Minnis was accused of taking the woman, who is an alcoholic, on trips, where he inappropriately touched her. At least two times she alleges, she woke up with only her underwear on, lying on Minnis' bed. She also was provided pay raises that nearly doubled her income, which she accepted. BOLI investigator Chris Lynch determined that this case is worth pursuing and has merit, stating that the woman basically suffered from an alcoholic disability.

According to a Statesman Journal article about Minnis and the DPSST:

• Provided the employee with raises and job advancement as a quid pro quo for his unwelcome sexual advances.
• Exploited the woman's alcoholism in his harassment, taking advantage of her disability.
• Failed to accommodate her alcoholism as a disability by offering her alcohol during work trips.
• BOLI is asking for damages of at least $2 million for the emotional, mental and physical suffering of the employee, who is referred to as "Jane Doe" in the charging documents.

Read more: statesmanjournal.com/article/20100511/UPDATE/100511021#ixzz0sJPC3xgU

While the state of Oregon would eventually say they could not prosecute the case because the crime took place in California, it is simply not true, because only one of the incidents happened out of state, everything else happened in Oregon. Minnis committed several offenses according to the woman, Oregon officials simply played the buddy system, they did not want to make Minnis pay for his crime like other people, that goes on the shoulders of Oregon Attorney General John Kroger.

In the interview segments below, you see that the Justice Dept. interviewer is shocked when he reveals to the victim that Minnis admitted ejaculating on her (redacted) and the woman is shocked, says she knew nothing about it. This was a crime, the woman was raped in an alcoholic lapse of consciousness and Minnis should be serving time, how about 19 years, like the inmate Terrence Kimble?

Courtesy: KATU Channel 2

I can only imagine how infuriating this has to be for the victim, the victim's friends and family; Minnis just lived up to the mean ultra conservative political spirit he displayed in the capitol as a legislator.

Also note in the interview below, that the Dept of Justice investigator seems to advocate for Minnis, claiming he said no alcohol was involved, to which the victim said, "bullshit".

Then, later in the interview, the state police representative positively claims he was told by Minnis that alcohol consumption took place, but that it wasn't the reason they had 'intimate' encounters.

The DOJ interviewer seems to display a strong prejudice, first trying to persuade the woman convincingly that Minnis said there was no alcohol. Then he clearly admits later in the interview that he knew there was alcohol, and I can't imagine I am the first person to catch this. It is clear that the DOJ representative was influenced and also that the individual was moved by the interview.

The victim said her intimidating boss John Minnis, "grossed her out" and that his advances destroyed her sobriety.

The email excerpts:

From the Oregon State Police report

"i have 2 remember my part & own up, my side of the rd...should not have trusted him or drank around him".

"he will lv me alone or i will talk...if he behaves & walks i will b fine & wont have 2 destroy him dont what that power".

what do u mean? i already had my conversation w/him, i have handled it & he wouldnt dare try anything.

"its not something i just go blubber about 2 anyone. greg will handle it from here on & john no's that"

"havent been talking 2 him... dont no dont care. just trusting god is taking care of me,"

"my boss is planin me but i am going to talk & b honest thre this i no i will stay sober. lv u. i will keep in touch".

"it took me a bit but we did just talk, i shook when talkin 2 him. i am going b around people cause i am gettin weird likeitis all my fault"

"i dont no if i can handle that. it was really hard 2 talk 2 him 4 even 5 min. i am just a problem. i can look 4 another job"

"i think john was reacting & really doesnt want 2 retire. i talked to him 4 a sec. i should just get another job and go away"

"I know I did it, cuz' I quit drinking, the only time I dran-I even email-tekt him that I said the only time I drink is around you because I can't be mean to you. So I don't know how to be mean to somebody that- you know (sigh) how do you be mean to a dorector that's your boss and I like my job. If I'd a known this was all was gonna' come out I'd a quit my job".

Interview excerpts from the Oregon DOJ interview

One of the meetings attended by Minnis and his subordinate was in San Diego, however the first one was in Bend, Oregon; a board meeting, in 2008. In March 2009 they attended the OEDI meeting in Welches, Oregon. They attended the ELCS Executive Leadership Committee in Seaside, that was in Jan 2009. Three incidents in Oregon, at least two sex crimes against the victim, and only one in California, this is very noteworthy.

As in the case of the emails above, the information is being presented verbatim without grammatical corrections:

CULLEY: All of the incidents that he describes, he indicates A that you were conscious of and knew were going on, uh, and B were a participant in and that he doesn't recall at anytime alcohol was a contributing factor to anything that happened and he describes briefly some sexual behavior, not sex-not the sex act itself, not penetration or anything like that but he describes one incident where there was an extremely intimate thing and he ejaculated, and uh, he describes it, it's on tape, it's in his statement.

Victim's handwritten notes recount sexual harassment from John Minnis.

What-what time.

CULLEY: Okay, that's the problem.

Because that's something that I-no.

CULLEY: Do you ever remember-

No!

CULLEY: - that happening in any of these instances.

No, no, never!

CULLEY: Okay, you-cou-

And if he did then he did it without my knowledge.

CULLEY: Was there ever a morning at any of these conferences where you woke up and there was any indication that he had done that.

Not that I recall.

CULLEY: Okay, you never found, or ne never had cleaned up something or done whatever-

I asked him, and he said ho.

CULLEY: Okay and which time was that?

ANSWER REDACTED

CULLEY: Okay.

Photos from the Minnis camera phone. Victim's image removed from lower photo.

And if he did something, then I don't know. Because I-I don't remember anything after I fell asleep on the couch.(more redacted information)

CULLEY: Okay, now when you say you weren't there what is-that, tell me what that means.

I don't remember.

CULLEY: You don't remember...(Knock on table) okay, uh...(knock on table again)

And if he did (knocking/tapping on table)...

CULLEY Well let me ask you a couple other questions, short of him ejaculating on-anywhere near you do you ever remember him being naked around you.

I don't think so. I remember him in his whitey-tighties that I told you at Bend.

CULLEY: Okay, and I think when we discussed that, was there any indication that he was like aroused or-

LARGE AMOUNT OF REDACTED COPY

Culley Okay, V(redacted)

(redacted) (sniff)

CULLEY: Okay, and you'd been sleeping right?

Sleeping before that.

CULLEY: (redacted)

MORE REDACTED COPY

CULLEY: Okay

MORE REDACTED COPY

CULLEY: Okay

MORE REDACTED COPY

As this police report indicates, Minnis was a sexual menace toward a frightened young married woman, as a trusted state official. He clearly set out to abuse his privilege under the color of law and his case shows other officials that Oregon's good old boy system is alive and well.

CULLEY: Okay

And he's full of bullshit if he doesn't think there was any alcohol.

CULLEY (redacted)

Okay, an' he's full of bullshit.

CULLEY Okay, I'm just tellin' you what he said.

(Later in the interview, the victim states that Minnis once showed up at her hotel room door in his boxers and said, "Look how good I look".)

Then later...

CULLEY: Okay, and then uh, at that point, what happened after that? So yer' back at the hot tub, is that when John showed up?

Yeah.

CULLEY: Okay

And then that's, I mean, that's all I remember, I member him getting' in the hot tub and getting' handsy with me-

CULLEY: Right.

And him stopping at his room cuz' he said he had alcohol.

Later in the interview...

CULLEY: He makes point of saying that any mutual touching or whatever that wen on between you guys (pen clicking) was when you had been drinking, but in his opinion, he said it's bot because the alcohol had made you incapable-

That's not true-

CULLEY: -of making decisions.

That's not true- because if I wanted to touch him I'd a done it sober.

CULLTY: Okay, I believe that-

The above documents can be downloaded at this address: ftp://159.121.117.157/John%20Minnis%20Investigation/

In regard to Terrence Kimble, I have written several stories tracing the case history and also produced the video accompanying this report that brings to mind very strong questions about how an Oregon court ever managed to convict this man.

However as we have related in many past reports, Oregon's justice and penal system have massive issues with Civil Rights violations and they happen off the radar, behind the walls of the prisons and in courtrooms where race appears to play a key role in decisions and ultimately, sentences like Kimble's.

The halls of justice are closed until further notice in Oregon; and we're reminded how a state's ability to police itself, sometimes leads to zero accountability in our officials. In fact it becomes a real free for all for men like Minnis, as the record shows.

As you have noticed, information is greatly redacted to prevent the public from gleaning the real details of what turned out to be almost a half-million dollar case against John Minnis in civil court. Interestingly, it was the state of Oregon that brought the case against... the state of Oregon. Perhaps that explains why the rape investigator was a financial detective?

Then, much the the chagrin of state officials, is Terrence Kimble. State officials made Minnis more important than other citizens and rubbed in our face that fact that corrupt official are far above the law. As a courtesy the case against this man was largely redacted, in Kimble's case the allegation itself was retracted, but that didn't mean anything.

_________________________________________________________

Tim King in 2008, covering the Iraq War

Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer

Tim King has more than twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim is a former U.S. Marine.

Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.

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