Posted on 05/05/2005 5:48:13 AM PDT by pissant
For a quarter century, the man who is now Spokane's mayor has used positions of public trust – as a sheriff's deputy, Boy Scout leader and powerful politician – to develop sexual relationships with boys and young men.
One man, Robert J. Galliher, claims in a court deposition that Jim West molested him in the mid-1970s when he was a boy and West was a Spokane County sheriff's deputy and Boy Scout leader.
A second man, Michael G. Grant Jr., also accuses West of sexual abuse during the same era, including an incident at Camp Cowles, a Boy Scout camp on Diamond Lake.
In addition, an investigation by The Spokesman-Review has revealed that 17 months after leaving the state Legislature, West has used the trappings of the mayor's office to entice and influence young men he met on a gay Web site.
On one recent occasion, West offered a man he believed to be an 18-year-old – whom he met online at Gay.com – gifts, favors and a City Hall internship, Internet dialogues retained by the newspaper reveal. The 18-year-old was actually a forensic computer expert working for the newspaper.
Last June, West went on a dinner date with another 18-year-old he met in the same gay chat room. The young man, initially unaware of his date's identity, paid for dinner, and then was allowed to drive West's blue Lexus convertible. The evening ended with consensual sex, the 18-year-old told the newspaper.
Rob Galliher has accused Jim West and David D. Hahn, who were Spokane County sheriff's deputies at the time, of child molestation in the 1970s.
West, interviewed Wednesday evening at the newspaper, called the allegations leveled at him by Galliher and Grant "flat lies," but he admitted having private online relationships in the past year through Gay.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at spokesmanreview.com ...
ping
Oh, brother...
And the queers want to allow avowed homos to be Scout leaders! I hope the national council permanently bans him from all participation in future scouting activities and publicly rebukes him.
If only Mayors/Deputy Sheriffs/Boy Scout Leaders were allowed to marry this wouldn't be happening!
A "Log Cabin Republican", perhaps? He should switch parties, move to New Jersey and run for Governor.
me too!
LOL. Yes, Wahsington needs to allow for gays to marry! That oughta solve it.
Log Stabbin Republican, it sounds like.
Ping.
This developed out of the investigations into the abuses of priests in this Diocese.
I lived in Spokane for 15 years ending in 2003. Jim West always seemed to be involved in some kind of scandal. I recall one occaision where he left a message on a political enemy's answering machine. I don't remember exactly what it was about, but I can remember he used the words, "Don't f*ck with me, or I...will...KILL...you!" I don't have a hard time believing that he intimidated those boys into silence.
They're less of a danger out of the closet, believe me. Once they've been "outed", they can be "outed" by the voters--as in booted out of office.
I think Ted Bundy was a republican too. You just never know.
Agreed
Most gay men I know disavow this type of behavior. This Republican mayor is a pervert. Howcum West is not considered a hero by rank and file Republicans yet? They'll just chalk it off to "youthful indiscretions", no?
He wasn't so youthful last year dialing up Gay.com.
A new agenda. Gay rights for political hacks.
Put it in the GOP platform...
Silence is the enemy of truth and the fact that West has served in the legislature for years, and got elected Mayor when dozens or maybe hundreds knew about him but didn't speak up, is contemptible.
My prayers in support of the many victims, especially those who were intimidated to "keep quiet" for so long. I hope this expose' can finally bring some closure for them.
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