Washington Courts

Pete Whipple is about 5′10, healthy, with a pleasant smile. He is attentive; if you stand next to him, you will sense he is attentive to you.

Mr. Whipple came to Spokane to testify at the trial from Williams Port, Pa. He and his wife are working to organize a new church in Williams Port, a nondenominational Christian church. That is what he does – he works as a person who starts churches. He is married. He and his wife have raised five children who now range in age from 22 to 31.

Mr. Whipple was at Morning Star Boys Ranch from September 1967 to June of 1977. His brother M.J. Whipple was with him.  How did they come to be at the ranch and for so long?

Their father was the cook at the ranch. They lived in a house on the property. Their mother was gone, he has not seen her since the time he was four. Their mother and father were divorced.

One day, their father simply left, left the boys in the house and never returned. Father Joe came over and told them they should come over and live at the ranch with the other boys. They did, and they stayed. Father Joe and the ranch became their father.

But, it seems as though Pete Whipple also became a father to himself. He excelled at the ranch and though he did not say it, it became apparent as I listened to his testimony, that he had “identified” with the purposes of the ranch and the person and character of Father Joe Weitensteiner.

After graduating from the ranch and with the blessing and emotional and material assistance (an old car the ranch had), he attended Northwest College in Kirkland, Washington. In 1978, he moved to New Jersey and by correspondence took courses at Berean School of the Bible in Missouri. He graduated in 1981 and has been involved in the ministry ever since.

He was at Morning Star when Billy Knapton was there. He describes Billy Knapton as the “poster child” for the ranch and may have been at the ranch longer than he and his brother.

Billy Knapton in his testimony said that he and some other boys had to stay out of school because they were sick and that during that time he and the other boys were made to hold iris flowers in their butt cracks and that pictures were taken. He said the picture was on Father Joe’s desk and that everyone knew about what had happened.

Pete Whipple said he was there, he and some other boys along with Billy Knapton had been quarantined. He said that the incident never happened. That there were no pictures. That there was no picture on Father Joe’s desk.

Mr. Whipple testified as to trips with Father Joe and others at the ranch. Of camping. Of Thanksgiving dinners at the home of Father Joe’s mother in Spokane with other boys.

He was asked about whether he ever saw Father Joe lose his temper. Six or eight times maybe. He said Father Joe became a bit upset with him when one day he was not wearing his cassock and had jeans and a cowboy hat on. Father Joe disapprovingly said “its Father Joe.” His upset was always tied to disrespectful behavior or disruptive behavior of the boys.

He said he never saw Father Joe strike a boy.

When asked about “hacks,” he said there were times, but the hacks were no different from what was true of the public schools at the time, of Ferris High School or Sacajawea Junior High. As to the hacks, the boys never took their clothes off. He said he had received a hack from time to time for bad behavior – over ten years, maybe six times.

When he went to college, Father Joe put a 1965 Plymouth in his name for transportation and a start. Over the years, Father Joe continued his generosity by making money gifts to him and his family and especially his ministerial work.

He said he saw Billy Knapton when he came back to the ranch for a time in 1970 - 71. He had a concern about Knapton because he was trying to sell bags of airplane glue.

He saw Billy in the mid-70’s and he “wasn’t doing well.”

At the ranch and with the care and kindness of Father Joe, Pete Whipple was able to be the father of the man he has become.

On Monday, February 1, 2010, the attorneys for Morning Star Boys Ranch put on a host of witnesses. Bob Sestero did most of the direct examination. This was the day the jury and the court observers got a good chance to see this young man in action. He was good. His questions were well prepared and organized. He handled himself well when a rough spot came up and when it was necessary to rephrase a question so that it would be put more appropriately, he was able to do so. He was well-mannered and respectful of all including defense counsel, Tim Kosnoff and Dan Fasy.

The witnesses came on in fairly rapid succession. Nothing was rushed, but no time was wasted on questions which might touch on testimony, though interesting and good was irrelevant. One can see from this real first day of the defense that they are going to use their time well and to the purpose. The defense must be finished by this coming Thursday.

Now, the witnesses and the testimony:

David R. Tucker is 37, married, living with his wife and their five children, ages 3 - 15, self-employed, working as a cell tower contractor and wireless communication maintenance contractor.

He went to Morning Star for about 16 months during 1988 to 1989. He and plaintiff Kenny Putnam were in a receiving home together before they were both placed at Morning Star. At the ranch, they were together daily. He describes Putnam then as not shy, aggressive, rough, mouthing off, antagonistic.

He talked about outings with Father Joe and others at the ranch. He talked about Doyle Gillum and how often he was in contact with him – daily. As to each of Father Joe and Gillum he testified that neither had done anything inappropriate, said anything inappropriate, were anything other than caring men doing their work as people trying to help boys and young men on their feet.

He testified that Father Joe had never tried to isolate a boy, had never been isolated with a boy, was always with more than one boy.

Jeffrey Benz, by deposition:

Mr. Benz’ deposition was taken in British Columbia, Canada, in Surrey with his girlfriend, his child and his girlfriend’s mother. His deposition had a certain frankness to it which was interesting. He said he had nothing to do with Morning Star and that he did not care one way or another about the litigation. He just wanted to live his life in Canada.

He is 33. He was at Morning Star at the same time as Kenny Putnam. He said he and Putnam were buddies at the ranch, that they hung out together. He talked about going on ski trips with other boys and Father Joe. How they would go to the parish house, Father Joe had an apartment in Hillyard at St. Patrick’s and then head off for skiing early the next morning. He said Father Joe had a small apartment with a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. The boys camped out in the living room in their sleeping bags. He never saw father Joe alone with a boy. In answer to several questions concerning whether Father Joe was inappropriate in word or deed in any way, he consistently said no.

He talked of boating trips with Father Joe and other boys. Kenny Putnam was there with him on one occasion. He said Father Joe and Kenny Putnam were never alone. He described a situation where he and Putnam had been acting up and that it was necessary for Father Joe to discipline to have them cut it out. Some anger was expressed. Father Joe told them to sit down. At that point Putnam jumped out of the boat and into the lake. He said that Putnam had not come out of the cutty cabin before this happened.

He said that Putnam was angry that day at Father Joe and that he said, “I am going to get that guy someday.”

He said he remained friends with Putnam, that they had never had a falling out. He said that Putnam had never said anything to him about being approached or touched sexually by Father Joe or anyone else.

Dan Fasy read the questions of cross-examination of the deposition. Benz testified that his stepmother’s father was Reese Hall, the friend of Father Joe’s who was involved in the ranch and had a boat at the same lake and (dock) as did Father Joe.

Hoa Le

During the plaintiff’s case, evidence came in that Doyle Gillum and Hoa Le had shared an apartment near Morning Star for a while before Le went off to Tacoma for college. Le was a resident of the ranch and the ranch sponsored the apartment.

Mr. Le is Vietnamese. He and his mother and sister were “boat people” who were able to find their way to the United States. They came to Spokane from Stockton, California with his family in 1986.

Le is married, 39 or so, has two children who live with him and his wife and their mother. He has a Bachelor’s degree in social work from Eastern Washington University, has worked for the Social Security Administration, Hayden Homes, The Arc of Spokane, and now Fairwood Assisted Living. He has a “lay ministry” certificate from Whitworth.

He was at Morning Star during 1988 through 1994.

He talked about Father Joe and Doyle Gillum and testified there was nothing of a sexual nature in their contact with the boys at the ranch, no rumors, just normalcy.

He spoke of Kenny Putnam and testified they spent much time together at Morning Star because the kids were all together many times for meals and recreation. Putnam was not shy, was aggressive, liked to provoke things, would try to draw others into the conflicts he was having, had to be restrained.

Gillum was a staff person he came to know as a friend. Gillum would play basketball with the boys, take them on horseback rides with the ranch horses. There was nothing inappropriate about Gillum.

Le was an usual member at the ranch, Richard Holcomb, another witness testified. He had been successful in school and was successful in his relations with others. The ranch wanted to encourage his growth.

For the last few months of his stay, he shared an apartment with Doyle Gillum at the ranch. Each had his own room. They were hardly together because Le was helping at a local grade school and going to high school at the same time. He said the ranch wanted him to grow up more and learn to live on his own.

He went to Tacoma in an old station wagon the ranch had given to him.

Doyle Gillum was a good friend and a good person.

As an observer, I was left with the clear impression that Mr. Le found in Gillum an elder brother he had respect for and wanted to emulate. And, he has. Mr. Le is a tribute to the short, sincere and giving life of Doyle Gillum.

John D. Lyons

Mr. Lyons is single, but engaged to be married. He is about 36. He was at Morning Star from November 1987 through May 1989. He was there when Kenny Putnam was there.

From February 1994 through April 1999, he was in the United States military. He was a sergeant having reached the grade of E-4. He was honorably discharged.

He now works for American Behavioral Health System as a Facility Monitor.

He worked at Morning Star in 2007 as a janitor and while he was job hunting. He worked the graveyard shift as a janitor and also helped get breakfast ready for the boys.

He talked about Father Joe, Doyle Gillum, Mary Jentges, the social worker who testified earlier in the proceedings, outings on Father Joe’s boat with other kids, skiing trips – no overnights on the boat or skiing and always with other boys.

He talked at some length about Kenny Putnam. He described Putnam as an antagonist, as loud and aggressive, very verbal, always trying to create a bit of trouble, one who would step into a situation and disrupt it. He said he got along with Putnam as people want to do when they spend time together in similar conditions, like in the army.

He said he saw Kenny Putnam at Northwest Seed and Pet in north Spokane some time ago in the spring of 2006. They talked and exchanged pleasantries. He said he asked about the allegations appearing in the news about Morning Star Boys Ranch about the sex abuse cases. He said Putnam said, “I am going to get me some of that money.”

In cross examination by Dan Fasy, he went on to say that Putnam was “not a person he wanted to spend time with.”

Tricia Schmidt

Mrs. Schmidt is the widow of Doyle Gillum. She is married and has a child. She and her husband live in South Carolina. She teaches at a Christian grade school. Her husband works for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Tricia Schmidt gave the most poignant testimony of the trial. She loved Doyle Gillum and spoke of their meeting, their lives together, their hopes, their faith and Doyle’s untimely death in a train accident while on a hunting trip with a friend in outside of Omaha, Nebraska in 1994.

I will have more to say about Mrs. Schmidt and Doyle Gillum and her testimony.

Richard Holcomb – more on Mr. Holcomb later. He is a full-time professional in the business of providing services to boys like Lyons, Tucker, and Putnam. He told about the training and the work of the workers at Morning Star. He helped everyone understand how “restraint” was done, about the policies regarding restraint, of how everyone was trained to try to de-escalate the situation prior to restraint, and that restraint was in fact a way where an adult would essentially embrace the person from behind and keep him from harming himself and others and how the restraint would be released as the restrainer experienced the person calming down, relaxing.

Tricia Shanks

Mrs. Shanks said that she helped at the ranch, but that she was not a nurse at the ranch. Witness Paul Bagget had said that he reported sex abuse to a nurse by the name of Shanks. She said no and that she does not remember Paul Bagget.

William Beasley, by deposition. I am going to talk about Wm. Beasley later when I speak more of Tricia Schmidt. He was Doyle Gillum’s good friend.

The second witness on Tuesday was psychologist Mary Dietzen. Ms. Dietzen is a pleasant pixie of a woman in her late 40s or early 50s. She is well spoken. She impresses one as thoughtful and sincere. She testified to the psychological and the emotional condition of Kenny Putnam. There is no doubt Kenny Putnam is a troubled soul. In her testimony she tried to connect Kenny’s present troubled condition with the so-called abuse he alleges in his complaint with respect of Doyle Gillum and Father Joe.

She testified to circumstances of a good deal of physical and emotional trauma of Mr. Putnam prior to the time he went to stay at Morning Star for a few months. Testimony was elicited about the terrible rejections Mr. Putnam went through at the hands of his mother, a drug and alcohol abuser of substantial success. And there was testimony of the physical and emotional abuse of him by his father Doyle Putnam – the man who married Putnam’s mother when he was five years-old. The impression one was left with was that Kenny Putnam had been deeply emotionally and physically abused by his mother and his father.

Ms. Dietzen, it was said, first met Kenny Putnam when attorney Kosnoff sent Putnam to Dietzen for therapy. After the therapeutic relationship was established, Dietzen then became a forensic psychologist with respect of Mr. Putnam. As I listened to this testimony, I wondered about the sequence. About this witness first being a treating psychologist and then later becoming a forensic psychologist with respect of the same person. I suppose I was wondering how one could have a therapeutic relationship where the relationship was based on personal loyalty and trust and then turn that relationship into a supposed objective relationship where the client was merely looked at in an objective manner. In my mind, this confusion of roles created a taint with respect of the testimony which was supposed to be objective.

Dr. Dietzen carried her notes and records regarding Kenny Putnam in a stack of loose papers held in her arms in front of her. I was reminded of former Spokane City Council woman Sherry Rogers walking around month after month with her stack of papers, notes, and other ephemera pertaining to her activities regarding Spokane’s River Park Square. She too kept her files in a stack held in front of her in her arms.

There were discussions between Ms. Dietzen and Jim King, the attorney for Morning Star, about the various tests Kenny Putnam took. These tests were for the purpose of giving people like Ms. Dietzen an understanding about Mr. Putnam. The tests were something like the tests we used to call the Minnesota multi phasic inventory test or something like that. In a whole series of questions, if answered candidly, a picture of the person taking the test would emerge. The tests Mr. Putnam took were to be sent back to the specialist company having to do with the test for what is known as scoring and interpretation.

Mr. Putnam took the main test on two occasions. The test was sent off for scoring. The interpretive results were sent back to Ms. Dietzen. In both tests, the scoring company determined that the tests taken by Mr. Putnam were not valid. There was something wrong regarding the whole list of answers provided. Strangely, Ms. Dietzen could not provide the interpretive results which were sent to her. The interpretations seemed not to be in her files. There was record of one, but as I recall, both were missing. She could not explain this even though it was her standard practice to retain the interpretive results.

There was another aspect of Ms. Dietzen’s testimony which was troublesome. This had to do with the supposed connection between Kenny Putnam’s allegations of sexual abuse and the condition he is in today. She testified that Kenny’s condition was the result of traumatic events in the past. She went through a whole host of traumatic events. She testified that many of these dramatic events, if not all of the dramatic events, related to Kenny’s condition today.

That was all well and good until she said that Kenny’s condition was tied to his allegations of sexual abuse. That simply defied logic. There may be a connection, but if the allegations were true, they simply could not be the sole connection. What became obvious was that Kenny Putnam suffered severe, traumatic, emotional and physical abuse at the hands of his parents when he was a very small child, years before he was rejected yet again, abandoned yet again by his mother and father, and had no place to go but to Morning Star Boys Ranch.

On Tuesday, the first witness on the stand was Bobby Hunter. Bobby is Uncle Mike Clarke’s buddy. They hang together. Bobby is about 24, Uncle Mike is about 44. Bobby works, when he works, sometimes at Uncle Mike’s car detailing operation. (One had to wonder whether the car detailing operation stays in operation while Uncle Mike is in attendance at the Airway Heights Correction Facility?)

Mr. Hunter appears in the proceedings to shore up Uncle Mike’s testimony that Father Joe gave him an envelope with $2000 in it as hush money.

Perhaps I have missed a few things, but it seems to me that Bobby and Uncle Mike’s stories do not really ring true. Bobby seems a little unclear as to when he ever met father Joe prior to the so-called money transfer at that very open public place at 29th and Grand called the Chalet Restaurant.

Bobby and Mike say they know Spokane’s South Hill, but are a bit unclear as to the exact location of the Chalet. Of course, to anyone who has any knowledge of the Spokane South Hill knows immediately that the Chalet is located behind the gas station in the little shopping center at the southwest quadrant of the 29th and Grand intersection.

The buddies are unclear as to whether the envelope was placed on the table, whether it was sealed or unsealed, whether anyone, by looking at the envelope sealed or unsealed, could know it contained $2000 in 20 bills of $100 each. (I wondered why so quick to say $100 bills were used?  Some people in Spokane are very familiar with the convenience of the $100 bill.)

There is a discrepancy as to whether the envelope was aggressively shoved across the table by Father Joe.

And here are presented the most suspicious aspects of the testimony of these two troubadours of the byways of Spokane:

•  why would anyone who is going to bribe another person go to a public place,
• meet with the person and another person whom he did not know,
• and in full view of everyone in the public place,
• deliver an envelope which appeared (according to the troubadours) obviously to contain many loose $100 bills?
• And, to top it off, why would such a person do so if he, himself, was well-recognized all over the South Hill, if not Spokane in general?

The testimony defies credulity.