Sides give starkly different opening statements in trial of Oregon prison nurse accused of sexual abuse

Editor’s note: This story contains graphic descriptions of sexual assault.

The federal trial of a former Oregon prison nurse got underway Monday in Portland with jury selection followed by opening statements. Federal prosecutors outlined the case of a prison employee who used his power to groom, manipulate and sexually abuse women in custody, often during medical appointments. The defense argued it was a set-up by a group of women to extort money from the prison by making false accusations.

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Tony Klein, who worked as nurse at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, with 19 counts of sexual abuse and four counts of making false statements. Specifically, federal prosecutors allege Klein deprived women at the prison of their constitutional rights to not be subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. Then, they allege, Klein lied about the sexual abuse under oath during a deposition in a civil case in 2019.

Klein, 38, has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

For the jury, the trial sets up a question of whether women with criminal records, some of whom have active criminal cases and continue to struggle with substance abuse disorders, are to be believed when they report they were sexually assaulted by prison employee while in the state’s custody. Or, as the defense suggests, whether those women executed a well-orchestrated conspiracy to ruin the career and life of a man who worked at the state’s only women’s prison purely for their own financial gain.

Jury selection took most of the day Monday, as U.S. District Court Judge Michael Simon, Klein’s criminal defense lawyers and federal prosecutors questioned proposed jurors about issues that ranged from their views about the #MeToo movement, to whether they had biases they couldn’t overcome toward people with substance abuse disorders and lengthy criminal records.

Many proposed jurors shared stories of spouses, siblings, children or themselves having faced some kind of sexual abuse or harassment at some point during their lives. One man, who was ultimately seated on the jury, said he had been falsely accused of a sexual assault, though neither the court nor the attorneys asked many follow-up questions about the incident in open court.

The jury of six men and six women, along with two alternates, was sworn-in late Monday afternoon. Jurors did not state their gender identity or race in open court.

Simon told jurors their job at the end of the trial would be to “find the facts” and that they “must decide the case solely on the evidence and the law before you.”

Klein appeared in court wearing a dark blue suit seated facing the jury on the opposite side of the courtroom. Throughout the day, Klein often looked down, appearing to take notes, or would turn to speak with his two attorneys.

During opening arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin Bruce laid out a graphic case against Klein, telling jurors the evidence would show that Klein “used and abused his position” as a medical provider at Coffee Creek so he “could prey on vulnerable women.” He argued Klein set up situations where it was Klein’s word against women with criminal records, many of whom also relied on him for medical care for things such as cancer treatments or a heart condition.

“For so many women the stakes were just too high to report Klein,” Bruce said. “Who were the authorities going to believe? A convicted felon or a medical professional?”

Bruce said women would testify about Klein grabbing their breasts, exposing his penis, forcing his finger into their vaginas or forcing them to have sex when they objected. He said there was no major forensic evidence. Rather, Bruce said the government would prove and show how Klein “used his position and access to groom them so they would drop their defenses.”

In the indictment, Klein is charged with sexual assault against 11 women, but in court documents federal prosecutors accuse Klein of inappropriate contact with at least 20 women at Coffee Creek, where he worked from 2010 until early 2018.

Klein’s defense attorney Matthew McHenry laid out a starkly different case during his opening statement; he argued Klein was the victim of a set-up.

He said Klein had worked at the prison for years without any allegations until 2017, when the first of numerous allegations from women at Coffee Creek was reported.

“This is not a random group,” McHenry said. “You’ll hear how they all knew each other in prison. They knew each other outside of prison … some knew each other before they came to prison.”

McHenry said the women were motivated by money, arguing “all of them got something out of it.” He told jurors how many of Klein’s accusers received “six-figure” financial settlements as part of a civil case against Klein and the Oregon Department of Corrections.

“The evidence is going to show you that these accusations are false,” McHenry said. “He’s innocent of those accusations.”

If convicted, Klein could be sentenced to life in prison.