After seven days of testimony, a jury found Joe Rogers guilty Tuesday of second-degree sexual abuse, attempted sexual abuse, indecent exposure and coercion.
Rogers was convicted of seven of eight counts. He was found guilty on one count of second-degree sexual assault, one count of second-degree attempted sexual assault, four counts of first-degree indecent exposure and one of two counts of coercion.
The charges originally included four counts of second-degree sexual abuse but three were dropped when the victim testified in court that the incident had only occurred once and not four times. As a result, Judge Anna Moran dismissed the additional three counts.
"(The victim's) trial testimony was radically different than her grand jury testimony. Her story has changed between grand jury and trial," Public Defender Andy Pevehouse said.
Rogers pleaded not guilty to all charges and received counsel from Pevehouse.
The charges stem from Rogers' abuse of a 13-year-old girl during a period of four months in 2005 and 2006.
According to an affidavit submitted by Soldotna Police Sgt. Stace Escott, school staff brought the abuse to the authorities' attention. The victim's parent had knowledge of the abuse, but did not report it because Rogers "was a prominent business man in Soldotna involved in many public organizations" and threatened to ruin the parent's livelihood, according to the affidavit.
District Attorney Kelly Lawson could not be reached for comment.
Comments (19)
Add commentJustice has been served
I commend the jury in finding this scumbag guilty. Hopefully it will be quite a few years before he gets out.
life
Give him life in prison - let him be taken advantage of, and scared of how to live his life.
I am glad this trial went
I am glad this trial went quickly with a guilty outcome. This guy deserves to rot in jail along with the additional punishments that sex offenders purportedly are subject to while in prison.
And I really hope that Mom does one hell of a better job protecting her daughter this time (if she continues to live with her). As a mom of two, there is NOTHING on earth that would prevent me from protecting my children in that situation. She knew it was going on and in failing to report it, she condoned it for her own selfish interests. Thank God for the school employees who recognized it and reported it.
My sincerest wishes that this young lady recovers and has people around her that will help her through and keep her best interests in mind.
Right on
Amen to all of the above comments.
Lucky he's in jail
If he ever came after my kids, God help him. That girls mother should be in jail too.
Girls Mom
Please think before you post things about the girls mom, the news only published the parts and pieces that they wanted to put in their story don't believe everything you read!! You may talk big about protecting your children but if you were threatened with the life of your children would you still do it? It's easy to form an opinion but when you don't have all the facts or now the truth your opinion can bite you in the ass!!
ABK416
You could never, ever, ever justify that woman's actions to me. She may as well have been an accomplice. There was opportunity to report this crime and she chose not to, then school employees reported it. Short of being locked in a dungeon in their home, she could have gotten herself and her child out or made a flipping phone call. Talk big? You bet. The moment I found out someone did that to my children or seriously threatened their lives they'd better pray I call the police and let them have him instead of acting on my base instincts as a mother.
One more thing.....
You can honestly tell me you'd let your child be molested for months (which probably would have been much longer if someone hadn't stepped up) and not do or say anything because they threatened you and your kids and your livelihood? You'd stick around, let your child endure and hope it got better instead? Seriously? Mothers are supposed to be people who love unconditionally and protect fiercely. It sounds like you're connected to this case and for that, you have my sympathy. However, I won't be jumping on the mother's defense bandwagon anytime soon.
Assumptions...
Thank you ABK . You are absolutely correct, the news only publishes certain things. The mother was not an accomplice but was in survival mode. Joe is a well known man in the community so of course there was fear. He accused her and her daughter of lying during this trial so what would make someone think that he wouldn't have called them liars back when this happened?
How do you know the girl was molested? Sexual abuse of a minor is a much larger category than it used to be and the law includes touching a minor or asking a minor to touch themselves as SAM. I know all parties included in this case and it was very sad to see. Of course everyone makes choices they wish they could change, but the mom did what she could to protect her other children. But I know for a fact she did not blindly allow the abuse to continue.
The trial was open to the public so all of you making assumptions based on what the paper is allowing you to read, should have come to the trial and listened so you could have heard the truth.
You said it....
I really don't see my opinion moving on this, so I will limit my commentary after this. I think you said it yourself by saying everyone makes choices they wish they could change. I bet Mom feels that way now and will probably for the rest of her life. Again, thank God for the school employees who reported it. They succeeded in bringing the situation to light by doing what mom failed to do a long time ago. As for the molestation reference, maybe you're right about my choice of words, but that's just semantics. To clear it up, she was sexually abused, coerced and exposed to indecency while mom did nothing. Work better for you, now? As for the guilty party, I hope he lives a long life with the stigma of all he has done. Once he gets out of jail, that is.
Acually Found Quilty on 7 of 8 Charges
Originally there where 12 Counts and 4 where dismissed by the Judge.
Please get all the fact's on the case correct before you publish them, it's very important, because people use them to voice comment's, so they deserve to get all the fact's.
Lucky for savmar she has all
Lucky for savmar she has all the time in the world to just follow her children around like hawks so that nothing bad can ever happen to them. Most parents have a job, or housework, or errands, or need to sleep at some point during their lives, while their children walk to the bus stop, attend school, daycare, or go to bed. I suspect this mother actually did do something about it; she just considered the situation calmly, which is not a personal flaw. Instead of making accusations before she could back them up (possibly jeopardizing any case against him), or attacking him so she could be arrested for assault and fight her own criminal charges (meanwhile leaving her vulnerable daughter alone), or any number of other irrational suggestions savmar made, she instead chose to remain calm, seek help, and keep her family safe while professionals handled it. The first professionals to handle it were the school staff. Nope, they're not psychics; they had to become aware of it when the mother or daughter (probably under mother's direction) reported it TO THEM. I understand savmar's passion, but it's nothing to brag about. She would have made a series of emotionally charged decisions that are unlikely to have resulted in a good long-term outcome. Whatever this mother did at least resulted in ending the abuse, acquiring sufficient evidence, and getting a conviction. Good for her. Go crucify someone else.
Well, the mother seemed to
Well, the mother seemed to taker her own sweet time in considering this situation calmly because if I recall correctly from previous reports, the abuse happened 5 yrs ago. If school officials had not stepped in, would this even have been reported at all?
How it was reported
From my understanding, it was reported because the girl wrote an essay in class. Not because mom did anything. After who knows how long, that young lady reached out for help in her own way. As for protecting her other children and keeping them safe, keeping them in the household with a sexual predator is your idea of safe and protected?
Do I follow my kids around all day? No. I don't have that luxury. I work full time, as does my husband. I don't know how anything you said there fits into your argument that mom did the right thing unless your predicting that I would wait years to report my child had been sexually abused? If you're attempting to fling an insult that I keep an eye on my children and would report any abuse immediately, keep flinging because it's nothing but complimentary as far as I'm concerned. And well said, love summer. I'd put money on the fact this would never have seen the light of day until the victim realized what happened to her was wrong. Unfortunately, she didn't seem able to go to the person she should have been able to trust the most-Her Mom!
My Family
So here's an idea, if you were actually human you would not know what to do until you were in this position.... What you don't know is all the truth you don't know that she kicked him out and when she did that.... Welcome to the media its like high school DRAMA just like those of you slandering the mother! What about this selfish monster that has ruined a young ladys life?????? Joe Rogers is a price of $%&* that needs to rot in jail for the rest of his life! But all you all are concerned about is how "unfit" the mom is well obviously you didn't go ro court for this trail so you know NOTHING so shut your mouth and quit defacing a person you don't know and I sure hope karma bites u in your @$$ for the mental abuse your causing to this family!!!!!
Last post, promise
I don't know why you would think I'm not happy that dirtbag is in jail. I am and have said so and I really hope he has a special place reserved in hell.
And no, I haven't been in the position where my spouse was sexually abusing my child. However, I did read about a month or so ago about an Anchorage mom who received a proposal from her boyfriend. He said he would come back into their relationship if she would sedate and let him have sex with her 14 year old daughter. You know what that mom did? She called the police immediately, set up a meeting with the ex so the police could tape it, made sure her daughter was safe in another location and then helped the police catch the piece of crap who wanted to do that to her kid. She didn't hesitate to protect her child.
May Joe Rogers rot at Spring Creek or wherever he's going. And mothers, there are resources and there is help. If you're ever in this situation, reach out. Please don't let it continue at your and your children's expense. Even if you kick a predator out, if you don't say anything, he'd still be out there with the potential of preying on other children who have no idea what's coming their way. I'd rather have the karma of wrongly calling someone out than the karma of that coming my way.
one more thing
PROTECT YOUR OWN CHILDREN BY GETTING OFF THE COMPUTER BECAUSE THE MONSTER JOSEPH ROGERS IS STILL ROAMING OUR TOWN BEING A FREE MAN UNTIL HE GOES BACK FOR SENTENCING AND QUIT BEING SO JUDGEMENTAL I KNOW EVERYONE HAS OPINIONS BUT YOU CAN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOURS AND TALKING OUT YOUR REAR! SO JUST LET IT BE KNOWN YOUR WRONG IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS MY FAMILY MEMBERS WILL BE SCARED FOR THEIR ENTIRE LIFE SO NEXT TIME YOU DECIDE TO SPEAK "YOUR OPINION" REMEMBER YOUR ADDING TO THE SCARING THAT HAS ALREADY BEGUN. TO KNOW THAT THERE IS HORABLE PEOPLE OUT HERE IN OUR SMALL COMMUNITY LIKE YOU MAKES ME SICK AND WONDER WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO OUR SMALL TOWN SUPPORT..... JUST REMEMBER THERE ARE MANY WOMAN WHO ARE ACTUALLY RAPED THAT DONT COME OUT ABOUT IT AND THOSE MONSTERS ARE WANDERING THE STREETS..... SHE DID DO WHAT WAS RIGHT BY REPORTING IT TO SAVE HER DAUGHTER AND ALL OTHERS!!!!!!!
Stop shouting
Next time, lose the caps, makes for a tough read.
Just wondering...
Was the word "pokey" used for jail/prison because of the sexual activity that occurs in there?