Circuit Judge Melvin Oden-Orr of Multnomah County took a deep breath and thought over the documents in front of him.
The state was on one side, insisting that he move forward with the felony sex offense prosecution against the alternative medicine doctor.
Conversely, the accused individual and the woman who made the accusation stood together. They had made a legally binding agreement to drop the criminal charges outside of the courtroom.
Lam Le, a naturopath from the Portland area, would give his accuser $500,000 under the civil compromise, a little-known legal mechanism. If Oden-Orr gave his approval, the case would be permanently dismissed.
So the sigh.
In a final attempt to sabotage the agreement, prosecutor Samuel Wilton urged the judge to take into account how unfair everything was.
He told Oden-Orr that most offenders who appear before your honor don’t have half a million dollars sitting around. The advantage they will have will be different.
In the meantime, the woman’s privately hired lawyer begged the judge to grant her request, stating that she was greatly relieved by the agreement and that she feared the publicity of a public trial.
Oden-Orr initially expressed doubt about the civil compromise, claiming that the clause suggesting a two-year suspension of Le’s naturopathy license was excessively lenient.
However, he allowed it when the doctor consented to a 10-year suspension in addition to the lump sum.
“I must admit that this is a challenging choice,” Oden-Orr stated. The goal is actually to assist the person move on and avoid more suffering.
This is a courthouse portrait of Circuit Judge Melvin Oden-Orr of Multnomah County.Sparling, Zane, and The Oregonian
COMPROMISE LAW CONTROVERSIAL
Even though it could appear difficult, a civil compromise is only an agreement, generally in the form of money or an apology, between the accused and the defendant in a criminal case that, with the judge’s approval, dismisses all charges without a conviction.
According to records from the Oregon Judicial Department, just 100 to 200 of these agreements for the satisfaction of an injured person are approved by circuit court judges in Oregon each year.
In cases involving property damage or physical injury, where the aggrieved party is more concerned about receiving enough money to pay for repairs than with facing jail time, a civil compromise can effectively conclude the matter.
The majority of felonies, offenses involving domestic abuse, crimes perpetrated by or against a police officer, and crimes during a riot are prohibited by state law from being resolved through civil agreements.
However, Oregon is unique in that it permits civil compromise agreements to be applied to minor offenses, such as second-degree sex abuse, which is the most serious charge against Le.
This contentious part of the agreement has supporters who claim it gives survivors more control and detractors who claim it enables criminals to buy their way out of serious problems.
According to Kevin Barton, the district attorney for Washington County, the loophole must be closed.
When you get to the other end of the scale, it sounds like bribery, but in a fender-bender situation, (civil compromises) make sense, he added. The DA’s job is to consider other possible victims in the community in addition to the victim in front of us.
When a civil compromise involves suspected child abuse, a breach of fiduciary duty (such as a bookkeeper stealing), or a defendant with a history of convictions or previous civil compromise agreements, Barton directs his deputies to object.
According to a copy given by a spokesman, the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office has a similar policy.
Because they don’t have the last say, prosecutors might not like these agreements, according to Mark Cogan, a seasoned criminal defense lawyer who has negotiated numerous settlements over the years. This is in contrast to a normal criminal prosecution, when victims have the right to speak at important points but are unable to override a mandatory punishment or plea agreement.
In the criminal justice system, victims are often marginalized, according to Cogan. In fact, the civil compromise statute gives an accused victim significant influence over the outcome of a criminal proceeding.
A few high-profile instances have made headlines, but most compromises take place in misdemeanor court and stay out of the limelight.
In 2011, a Portland police officer accused of drunk driving paid $117,000 in a settlement, while in 2019, a Portland defense lawyer accepted an apology from a man who had stolen her coat from a courthouse. As part of a 2014 settlement with the homeless man he was accused of stomping on in Portland, former Houston Rockets player Terrence Jones contributed $10,000 to a charity.
Most notably, Terry Bean, a Democratic contributor, offered the 15-year-old kid he was accused of sexually abusing a $200,000 civil bargain. Bean’s accuser declined to appear at the trial even after the judge rejected the agreement.
Civil compromises demonstrate how a victim’s desires can differ from what society as a whole may desire in order to deter crime or render offenders unable, according to Tung Yin, a professor at Lewis & Clark Law School.
The victim might believe, “All right, I’m happy.” He declared, “I will never see this person again.” But do we believe that this criminal may victimize someone else and perpetrate this kind of crime again?
In November 2022, Lam Le sits in an interview room at the Gresham Police Department.Sent in
SECRET CAMERAS, LOCKED DOORS
According to court documents, the case against Le started in early October 2022 when a lady called Gresham police to report that the naturopath had sexually assaulted her the month before while she was seeking treatment for a ribcage ache.
According to a probable cause affidavit prepared by prosecutor Wilton, the woman claimed that when she initially attended Le Sbody’s Fairview clinic in July, his energy balance treatments appeared to be beneficial.
She said that the naturopath’s behavior changed with time. Wilton reported that Le stopped charging for appointments, claiming her insurance covered them, started giving her lingering hugs and cheek kisses, which the woman dismissed as cultural differences, and started locking the clinic door after she entered, citing concerns about the homeless.
According to the complaint, the lady claimed that on September 29 of that year, Le unhooked some of her clothes, stroked her skin while comparing her to a model, and then sexually attacked her while claiming that it was for treatment.
I would never do you any harm. Le claimed in the affidavit, “How could I harm a beautiful flower?”
After going through denial, the woman called the police a few days later. (The Oregonian/OregonLive does not identify individuals cited as victims in sexual assault cases, so she declined to speak with them via her lawyer. In a similar vein, Judge Oden-Orr declined to comment.)
Records claim that when police arrested Le in November 2022, they discovered a hidden camera inside the exam room that was posing as a charging port. Le also acknowledged using his iPhone to record the woman without her knowledge.
Records from the Oregon Board of Naturopathic Medicine show that shortly after his arrest, Le consented to an interim stipulated order to suspend his license to practice while the inquiry was ongoing.
He was charged by prosecutors with first-degree invasion of privacy and second- and third-degree sex abuse in an eight-count indictment.
In the ensuing months, the lawsuit encountered difficulties. Circuit Judge Cheryl Albrecht ruled that Le had invoked his right to an attorney on the day of his arrest, yet two Gresham detectives ignored the request and spoke with him for four hours, a Miranda violation.
Albrecht suppressed the interview and any videos found on Le s cellphone based on his reported admission, deeming it tainted evidence.
Wilton, the prosecutor, says authorities applied for new warrants for Le s computer and likely would have recovered copies of the videos there, allowing them to be admitted in court lawfully, but the forensic analysis wasn t completed by the time the case was dismissed.
Avana Natural Health, 1547 N.E. Market Dr. in Fairview, closed its doors after charges were filed against naturopath Lam Le.Maps on Google
DOCTOR SURRENDERS LICENSE
Even though Le wasn’t imprisoned, defense lawyer Ryan Anfuso believes he was sufficiently punished.
Le, 65, has $750,000 in student loans for his medical degrees, and is currently caring for a wife undergoing chemotherapy for progressive breast cancer, according to the attorney.
His one-person clinic is shuttered for good, he said.
In reality, this was a medical malpractice claim that was brought in a criminal forum, Anfuso said in a statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive. As is often the case in litigation, the parties were able to agree on a solution short of trial that was best for everyone involved.
Le sold his home in a Camas cul-de-sac for $1.4 million while trying to come up with the cash, property tax records show.
He was required to write letters of apology to the woman and her husband, complete 52 hours of counseling under the deal, and he agreed to a permanent restraining order barring him from approaching her home, church or workplace.
In court, Anfuso assured Oden-Orr that the Oregon Board of Naturopathic Medicine would never let Le practice again, regardless of how long he agreed to surrender his license in the civil compromise.
Naturopathic Medicine Board Executive Director Mary-Beth Baptista declined to comment on the agreement made in court, but said state licensors acted swiftly to protect the health and safety of his patients.
Baptista said the board will likely decide whether to further discipline Le at its February meeting. Possible sanctions range from a $5,000 fine to revoking his license permanently.
The woman s attorney, Kirk Mylander, said his client had suffered from panic attacks and PTSD in the wake of the attack, and was desperate to avoid a trial, where Le could have emerged not guilty.
She s a forgiving person, and feels like everyone can improve and change, Mylander said in court, adding that his client planned to use the money to step back from work and focus on her children.
These events damaged her family life and her professional life, Mylander later told The Oregonian/OregonLive. A public trial of this case would have been a second round of abuse for her.
Wilton, however, says Le betrayed the doctor-patient relationship and shouldn t have walked away with a clean criminal record: There needs to be some sort of deterrent, the prosecutor said.
That may be so. But in the eyes of the law, Le is guilty of nothing.
Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083,[email protected]@pdxzane.
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