Dedicated to Sara Suarez for Her Bravery by Michelle Burrows, OTLA Guardian Amemorable case used to be defined by the end result: the verdict. But big results do not always make the necessary and profound changes needed. The 2016 presidential election was an electric shock followed by a slow horror show shifting my view of my purpose. I was preparing to give it up and quit in 2018; I even moved to Idaho to do so. But Tony Klein showed up for work at the women’s prison and changed my mind. Klein worked at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Oregon’s only women’s prison. He was a nurse for a total of seven years during which I estimate he sexually exploited, abused, raped and molested no fewer than 30 women. His actions were bold, shameless and often right in public view. He was a refined predator whose seven years provided a demonstration on the stages of grooming, exploitation and manipulation. By 2017, when he was finally stopped, he evolved into a dark monster. There has been a Klein nearly every one of the 20 plus years CCCF has been in operation. Klein is the most notorious. He was reported by a single woman in 2017 who claimed to have saved his semen. She was someone who raised numerous claims over the years against other men. She gave the State Police names of numerous woman whom she believed had an encounter with Klein; most did not want to be involved. 10 of those women hired me. Most of my clients proceeded anonymously because of fear of retaliation from the staff and other prisoners. Snitching in prison, no matter the reason, is its own type of hell. My lead plaintiff was out of prison when we filed and so we filed under her name: Suarez v. Klein and State of Oregon. The DOJ defended the State but not Klein. Klein was represented by two separate lawyers, one for the criminal exposure and the other for the civil. Because of the nuance in civil cases, DOJ said they would not indemnify Klein if he claimed testimonial privilege in his deposition. Klein was investigated by the Oregon State Police who handle most of the in-custody sexual abuse investigations. There were a lot of problems from the beginning. Klein would not cooperate, other staff members interfered and the security measures which should have been in place were absent. Three of my clients were raped by Klein and others were forced into various, often demeaning acts of “sex play” by Klein. Any resistance by a prisoner can result in additional punishment or even criminal charges. The woman could not simply call 911 or even file a report. DOJ gave significant discovery without complaint or objection. Klein gave two notorious videotaped interviews to OSP. It was Klein’s arrogance which really led to his downfall. He believed he was untouchable, but mostly he counted on no one believing the women. This worked on Washington County District Attorney, Kevin Barton, who declined to prosecute due to “credibility problems” with the woman. This was a significant departure from the philosophy of the prior Washington County DA. My clients were all victims of prior sex abuse: they suffered abuses including child pornography, molestation, gang rape, kidnap and sexual assault. None of my clients were well-educated; many of them obtained their GEDs inside prison. Most of my clients had lives of such danger and anxiety they believed prison was the safest place they could be. When DA Barton refused to prosecute Klein, the women lost all hope. Sara Suarez committed suicide the day before her deposition in the case. I took the rare step of giving a press conference immediately following the filing of the complaint. My clients were interviewed several times. I hired Jesse Wilson of “Tell the Winning Story” to work with my clients. Wilson wrote a chapter in his Trial Guides book on our case. It took a lot of depositions to learn how a nurse could be alone so frequently with patients, how he had the power to come in on the weekends and order women to the closed infirmary for a “follow up” and how he could rape women in exam rooms while dozens waited just outside. I wanted to know what measures CCCF took to track where MICHELLE BURROWS is a plaintiff’s civil rights lawyer who litigates against police agencies and prisons. She is a Guardian Member at the Club level, a member of the OSB House of Delegates and Chair of the OSB Civil Rights Executive Committee. She is a sole practitioner at 16869 SW 65th Ave. #367 Lake Oswego Oregon. www.oregoncivilrights.com 22 Trial Lawyer | Fall 2024
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