ROCKAWAY BEACH - A Rockaway Beach police officer accused of encouraging child sex abuse will remain in jail unless he posts a $500,000 bail, a judge ruled Friday.
Aaron Clark is a Rockaway Beach police officer and the former varsity softball coach for Neah-Kah-Nie High School. He is charged with requesting and receiving a nude photo of a then-14-year-old female player, and subsequently destroying the girl's iPod from which the message was sent.
His wife, Jennifer Clark, is also charged with attempting to hide evidence in the case.
Judge Eric Butterfield, a visiting judge from Washington County, did not lower the security amount as request by the defense. Clark remains in the Tillamook County Jail on charges of using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct, a Class A felony and Measure 11 offense; encouraging child sexual abuse in the second degree, a Class C felony; and tampering with physical evidence, a Class A misdemeanor.
Clatsop County District Attorney Joshua Marquis, who has been brought in as a special prosecutor, said Aaron Clark had "formed an attachment" with the 14-year-old. According to Marquis, on May 13, Jennifer Clark found out about the nude photo and texted her husband, telling him she discovered the "child porn" and it needed to be "gotten rid of."
At the time he received the text, Marquis said Clark was returning from a softball trip in Napa.
"He thinks his wife has called police," Marquis told the court. At this point, the prosecution contends that Clark asked the alleged victim "to leave the state with him and commit suicide."
But Clark's wife doesn't call the cops. "She is, in fact, supportive of him," Marquis said. Instead, the prosecution contends that Aaron Clark, an assistant softball coach, and the 14-year-old meet in Wheeler and the three decide to dispose of the girl's iPod by throwing it into the ocean.
Several witnesses testified during Aaron Clark's bail reduction hearing, including the alleged victim's mother. Over the phone, she said her daughter "never had any problems" prior to May of this year. "She was a very respectful child. She has great grades, is a good athlete."
But a few weeks after softball practice began, the mother said her daughter was "giggling after practice" about inappropriate jokes coach Clark had told her. "Sexual jokes," the mother said, which concerned "oral sex with women."
She said she became concerned by the amount of time her daughter spent communicating with her coach.
One Friday, the mother said "I found her playing Wii by private internet with Mr. Clark." She told her daughter, "You should be talking and texting your friends, not your coach, on a Friday night."
The mother said she confronted Clark about her concerns, and he told her he gives his cell phone number to all his players. He said the high frequency of the girl's texts didn't bother him because much of the texting occurred while he was on patrol with the Rockaway Beach Police Department.
During her testimony, the mother read from a Facebook message reportedly sent by Aaron Clark to the 14-year-old on May 3.
"My life as a whole has been better with you in it..." she read. "....You are an awesome person..." and Clark wrote that he never thought he'd have a relationship "so awesome with one of my softball players, or anyone in general."
The message goes on to read, "Your mother really wants what's best for you and so do I... I want you to be a part of my life as long as we're still breathing..." and if she ever stopped speaking to him, Clark wrote, "I will hunt you down and kill you and pee on your grave."
The victim's mother said that last line made her concerned for her daughter's safety, and she hoped Clark's bail would not be reduced.
Later, Aaron Clark's attorney, John Tuthill, said the court "didn't know the context" in which that final comment was made.
Neah-Kah-Neah High School's athletic director and dean of students, Leo Lawyer, also took the stand. He said that on the morning on June 3, the 14-year-old reportedly admitted to the school's basketball coach that she had sent a nude picture of herself to someone in the community. During a meeting with Lawyer, the basketball coach, and a school counselor, the girl reportedly admitted she had sent it to Aaron Clark.
"She told me it was a mistake," Lawyer said. "She didn't mean to do it. She didn't want anything to happen to him (Clark)... She didn't want him to be hurt. She didn't want him to lose his job."
Lawyer said the girl also mentioned the suicide pact between the pair. School officials immediately reported Clark to the sheriff's office and placed the school on lock-down, Lawyer said, because Aaron Clark's whereabouts were unknown at the time and because of his coaching position, "if he were to come to the school for some reason, people would have welcomed him."
Tuthill remarked that his client did not show up at the school that day, or any subsequent day.
Arguing for a reduced bail, Tuthill said his client has lived in Rockaway Beach for 22 years, and since he became aware of the investigation, which started June 3, he has not had contact with alleged victim, nor attempted to flee the community. After learning of his indictment, Tuthill said Clark "very quickly made contact on his own to the sheriff's office to turn himself in.
Tuthill brought Aaron's mother, Deborah Clark, to testify that she would be willing to supervise her son if he were able to make bail.
She said her son graduated from Neah-Kah-Nie in 2002 and at age 19 spent two years volunteering with the Mormon Church in Phoenix, Ariz. Being a Rockaway police officer was "his dream job he wanted since he was 5 years old."
As a child, she said he would write down "reports" of wrong-doing he spied in the community and report it to the chief, who was a family friend.
"He was very concerned about his community," she said.
Additionally, she said her son is a volunteer with the Rockaway Beach Fire Department, a Sunday school teacher at their church, and has volunteered for the city's parks and recreation department.
When asked if the Facebook message her son sent to the 14-year-old surprised her, Deborah Clark responded, "It did not surprise me... The compassionate person that Aaron is, he will take troubled people and want to help them and give them confidence. I don't understand the comments at the very end, but (it is) probably relevant to the members of the softball team."
Tuthill argued that the $50,000 bail was excessive and that, if released, Clark could remain under the supervision of his mother, who lives nearby.
However, Judge Butterfield did not change the bail requirements. Aaron Clark will next appear in court at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 15. Jennifer Clark has an appearance set for 1 p.m. Sept. 14.
