PENDLETON, Ore. — A Milton-Freewater father said his civil rights were violated when a social worker told him not to return home after he was acquitted of raping his daughter, but a Pendleton jury on Tuesday sided with the social worker.
Randell Kerby sued Oregon Department of Human Services case worker Gay Davis in federal court and says Tuesday’s outcome shows that government workers are untouchable, reports the East Oregonian.
Moments after a jury found Kerby not guilty in 2011 of multiple sex crimes against his adopted daughter, Davis confronted him in the courthouse parking lot.
She warned Kerby that he could face consequences if he returned home because state human services still considered him a threat to his other children.
“Make no doubt ladies and gentlemen, he raped her, and her raped her again, and he raped her again, and he raped her again,” Oregon Department of Justice attorney Dirk Pierson, who represented Davis, told the jury on Tuesday.
Davis wanted to stop Kerby from going home because he was grooming his other daughter “to be his next rape victim,” Pierson said.
He added that Davis’ actions were in accordance with a judge’s orders to have Kerby complete testing to show if he was dangerous and seek treatment if necessary.
Portland-based lawyer Kristina Holm told the jury that Davis had no lawful basis for preventing Kerby from returning home.
She said the Kerbys sought $20,000 per family member in compensatory damages and $40,000 each in punitive damages— $240,000 in total.
The jury found that Davis lacked a valid court order to prevent Kerby from going home, but they also said she was justified in her actions because Kerby’s return would create imminent danger to his children.
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