the women were at any given time. I wanted to know how Klein learned so much information about the woman and was allowed such free, unsupervised access to the Oregon Department of Corrections database. Each of my clients gave heart-wrenching depositions. I cried through many of them. My traumatized clients were not only asked to re-live the abuse by Klein, their isolation and ultimate betrayal by the prison and the DA, but they had to also describe early abuse. So many of my ladies had never told anyone about the nightmares of their life and found the act of flushing it out on videotape for the DOJ to be therapeutic, and, sometimes, catastrophic and debilitating. Three of the women found the strength to show up for Klein’s deposition. At the time of Klein’s deposition, there were a few years left on the criminal statute of limitations; Barton had access to everything in the case. Klein’s deposition took eight hours. He denied everything, even knowing most of his victims as I laid out the pictures of nearly twenty women he abused and whom he had given medical care to. He denied the sex acts, the sex play, accessing the DOC database despite being shown his searches obtained by the Oregon State Police. Klein’s deposition was perhaps the most chilling and creepiest I have ever taken. As the day progressed, his frustration increased; his true persona started showing through. I knew if I drew out the deposition, Klein’s facade would collapse. I call these the “I’m f---ed moments.” During one particularly unnerving exchange, his lawyer insisted on a break. The rest of us sat silently stunned. Slowly, the DOJ lawyers left and my clients, the court reporter and “All my clients were badly traumatized by their lives, but they all persevered until the very end… They all were empowered by the system rather than being destroyed by it. And isn’t that the greatest victory of all?” See Dedicated to Sara Suarez p. 24 23 Trial Lawyer | Fall 2024
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