https://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-s...heimlich-ready-to-return-for-beavers-baseball
Luke has five nephews and nieces, including two by his oldest brother, Josh. Josh was married for a few years to his ex-wife, who has moved out of state. Soon after their divorce, Josh was granted custody of their two children. The mother had visitation rights that allowed her to have the children with her over Christmas holidays and for a portion of the summer. It was during the summer of 2012 that she brought up the allegations of abuse to Josh after a discussion with their daughter.
Josh spoke with his father, who then had several talks with Luke. During each of the conversations, Luke denied the allegations.
From about 2010 to 2012, and after Josh's divorce, Meridee would watch his children at her home after school while he was at work. She would have them for an hour each morning before they'd go to school. She would pick up the kids from school and bring them home in the afternoon, and Josh would retrieve them after he got off work. During that time is when the alleged incidents involving Luke occurred.
Meridee was with the kids virtually the entire time and witnessed nothing involving the kids and Luke. During a large portion of that period, Luke participated on football, basketball and baseball teams that practiced during that time frame, so he was not often at home when Josh's kids were there.
Josh eventually went to the police about the matter. After interviews with the ex-wife and her daughter, two charges of abuse were levied against Luke.
• The parents retained an attorney on Luke's behalf. Luke continued to maintain his innocence.
In May 2012, Luke's sexual history was obtained via clinical interview and a sexual history polygraph conducted by Rick Minnich, chief examiner of Minnich Polygraph Services of Burien, Washington.
Minnich was prohibited from asking any question directly related to Luke's niece.
From the report:
"It was the opinion of Mr. Minnich that Luke was truthful when he answered 'no' to the following questions: 'Not to include (the niece), have you engaged in sexual conduct with any member of your family?' And, 'Not to include (the niece), have you engaged in sexual contact with anyone else more than two years younger than you?'"
Polygraph tests often are used to determine the veracity of suspects or witnesses, and to monitor criminal offenders on probation. Luke and his parents would have welcomed the opportunity for a polygraph asking questions directly related to his niece, but their attorney said polygraph results are inadmissible in Washington court, and he advised against asking Luke specific questions.
• The attorney outlined two choices to Luke and his parents.
Luke could plead not guilty but face the possibility of 40 weeks placement in a juvenile institution if found guilty of the charges.
If he were to plead guilty, his case would be reduced to one charge of "child molestation of the first degree," with probation for a maximum of two years. With that, he would agree to undergo juvenile sex offender treatment, which included a number of stipulations. Among them: complete a bi-weekly counseling program, comply with curfew restrictions approved by the probation officer, have no unsupervised internet access, have no contact with the niece, have no contact with any child born after Feb. 2, 1998, not possess or consume alcohol or any controlled substance except by doctor's prescription, register as a sex offender and write a letter of apology to the niece.
Luke's parents believed in his innocence. There were several issues, however.
The attorney led them to believe chances were strong that, if Luke fought the charges, he would be judged guilty by the court. The attorney expressed that view that the court system favors the testimony of the victim.
The only way to get into the two-year probationary program was with a guilty plea. If Luke contested the charges, the Heimlichs were led to believe the logical conclusion would be adjudication.
That would mean Luke's incarceration at a juvenile facility for nearly a year, causing him to miss a year of school and a season of baseball. His parents also were concerned that if Luke were found guilty, Josh might lose custody of his children to his ex-wife and that Mark and Meridee would lose the opportunity to be with their granddaughter.
Collectively, Luke and his parents decided a guilty plea was the best route. He could stay at home, attend school and lead a somewhat normal life. If he followed all the rules through the five-year period, his records would be sealed. The parents felt that path would be the quickest toward healing and recovery of the family. They were were concerned that, if Luke contested the charges, it would require aggressive questioning to break down their granddaughter's story. They weren't comfortable with putting her through that.
On Aug. 27, 2012, Luke pleaded guilty to the single charge.
• After his initial meeting with Luke and his parents prior to the court plea, his court-appointed therapist wrote a report that included the following:
"He has a very loving and supportive family who are very involved in their church. Luke has been involved in organized sports since a very early age and has many friends, who are positive influences in his life. There is no history of behavioral or emotional problems."
Also: "Luke adamantly denies all allegations against him, but has accepted a plea agreement from the prosecutor to amend his two counts of child molestation in the first degree to just one count. In the past, treatment providers have shown some reluctance to treat someone who denies guilt of the committing offense. However, research into juvenile sexual recidivism has shown that categorical denial by someone who has no history of delinquency is NOT a contributing risk factor for sexual recidivism … furthermore, there is at least one study that revealed those adolescents who denied their offenses were significantly LESS likely to reoffend sexually. … Luke appears to be at low risk for sexual recidivism in both the long term and the short term."
Also: "Luke has accepted a plea agreement and will be entering a guilty plea. Therefore risk assessment is conducted with the assumption of guilt even though the client does not actually admit to the allegations."
The therapist also wrote that Luke "will need assistance coping with the short- and long-term consequences to himself and to his family for being labeled and having to register as a sexual offender.
