Randell Hooper
"Over months, the two watched pornographic videos at Hooper's house and engaged in inappropriate touching and eventually had sex, the man and his stepmother testified."
The Oregonion Newspaper, October 21, 2004
Ex-Wasco deputy on trial in abuse cases
Prosecutors claim Randell Hooper preyed on two boys; the defense says he was only looking out for the teens
Thursday, October 21, 2004
WENDY OWEN
THE DALLES -- Former Wasco County sheriff's Deputy Randell Hooper is either a caring man who went out of his way to help troubled teenage boys or a man who used his badge to gain their trust before molesting them.
Attorneys painted both pictures of Hooper, 43, during the opening day of his trial Wednesday in Wasco County Circuit Court on allegations that he sexually abused two teenagers in 1998 and 2003 when he worked as a deputy.
The trial combined two cases against Hooper. In the first case, Hooper is accused of inappropriately touching and attempting to have sex with a 14-year-old boy he befriended after catching the boy skipping school to collect aluminum cans for deposit.
Hooper's attorney, Andrew Carter, said his client admits to letting the boy mow his lawn, buying him shoes and inviting him to spend the night at his house, but he denies any abuse. Carter said the boy dreamed it after falling asleep while watching a movie at Hooper's house in The Dalles.
But Assistant Attorney General O. Scott Jackson said Hooper, a 15-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was a predator who "used his position to seek out vulnerable young men he could use to satisfy his sexual urges."
The boy, now 15, comes from a troubled family. His parents have a history of neglect, verbal abuse and lack of supervision, according to court records. The teenager sat through the first day of the trial reading Garfield cartoon books.
Hooper faces three felony charges of sex abuse and attempted sodomy and three misdemeanor charges of attempted sodomy, attempted sex abuse and official misconduct in the first case.
The second case involves a man, now 22, who has accused Hooper of sexually abusing him when he was 16.
The man and his stepmother testified that Hooper befriended him after being called to his house when his parents caught him "huffing" gasoline fumes.
Rather than cite the teenager, Hooper offered to help him and gave him odd jobs around his house.
Over months, the two watched pornographic videos at Hooper's house and engaged in inappropriate touching and eventually had sex, the man and his stepmother testified.
Hooper faces six felony charges of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, two felony counts of sex abuse and 12 misdemeanor counts of sex abuse.
Carter suggested the man's accusations were an attempt to get a lenient plea agreement from the Wasco County district attorney in his own sex abuse case. He was convicted of felony sex abuse in April for a crime in 1997.
The Oregonian is not naming the alleged victims to protect their privacy.
Wendy Owen: 541-296-0606; wowennews@aol.com
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