From Statesman Journal staff and
wire reports
May 16, 1990
Scott
McAlister, a former Oregon assistant attorney general, was charged Tuesday in
Utah with sexual exploitation of a minor. The second-degree felony charge
states that McAlister possessed two films depicting child pornography, evidence
from an Oregon court that McAlister brought with him last year when he took a
job with the Utah Department of Corrections.
McAlister
left his position in Oregon in January 1989 after 17 years — most of that time
providing counsel to the Oregon Department of Corrections. He resigned as the
Utah inspector general in December amid sexual harassment allegations.
His former
secretary has said that McAlister, 43, had asked her to keep a box of 30
eight-millimeter films and later showed her one, saying it would increase her
appreciation for group sex. The former employee, Linda Dreitzler, turned the
films over to federal authorities. The charge filed Tuesday in the Third Circuit
Court was based on information compiled in a subsequent child pornography
investigation by the FBI, which searched McAlister's residence Jan. 31. The
U.S. attorney's office turned the case over to the Salt Lake County attorney
last Wednesday.
A probable cause statement said two of the films — Young
Arabian Nights and Pre-teen Sex —had been seized during the search.
But Chief Deputy County Attorney Bud Ellett said that the films actually were
among those turned over by Dreitzler and that the statement might be changed.
The films "depict nude minors performing explicit sexual acts ... for the
purpose of the sexual arousal of any person," according to the statement
by Richard Forbes, a county attorney investigator. The charge carries a
maximum penalty of 1 to 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
McAlister's
lawyer, Brad Rich, said that his client had agreed to appear in court to face
the charge sometime next week, and that county authorities had no concern about
him appearing. McAlister is living in Arizona and has found temporary work,
although Rich would not specify where. The Salt Lake Tribune reported
Tuesday that sources close to the U.S. attorney's office said officials feared
that it would be difficult to prove that child pornography had been
transported across state lines for the purpose of exhibition, as outlined in
federal law.
Dreitzler
initially filed a sexual harassment complaint with the Utah Industrial Commission against McAlister and the Department of Corrections,
alleging that McAlister used his position to force female employees into sex.
Another Corrections employee also filed a complaint with the Industrial
Commission. McAlister abruptly resigned in late December, saying he was tired
of "unfounded complaints and rumors." But Dreitzler's lawyer, Kathryn
Collard, said Tuesday that she had obtained a "right to sue" letter
from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to bypass the state
agency. She planned to file a federal lawsuit based on claims of sexual harassment
and discrimination as well as general civil rights violations. Rich said there
was no doubt that his client's chief accuser was trying to get back at him.
"His
version of what happened is completely different from hers. Her motivation is
going to have to come out sometime," Rich said. "It can only be
explained by her personal desire to see him in trouble." McAlister has
denied using the movies as teaching aids for group sex with female employees.
"Who would give somebody kiddie porn to get them in the mood for group
sex?" McAlister said in February.
"Anybody
who thinks about the allegations will realize they're absurd. If I was going
to try to get somebody in the mood for group sex, the last thing in the world
I'd give them is kiddie porn." Collard said she and Dreitzler both
considered Tuesday's criminal charge to be mere window dressing. "This
guy will never do a day behind bars. He has friends in low places,"
Collard said. "I knew the feds weren't going to charge him. It sounds like
the explicit reason for the county attorney to do this is so he wouldn't do
any time."