Apparent deal reached between social worker, city in sex abuse case:
Letter of wrongdoing from city reportedly part of agreement

By Stephen Maher, World staff writer

WENATCHEE -- An apparent settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by a former social worker arrested by police after questioning the tactics of former Detective Bob Perez during the Wenatchee child sex-abuse cases. Paul Glassen, who now lives in Maple Ridge, B.C., and works as a counselor, said the city has agreed to pay him $295,000, plus mediation costs of $2,500. Glassen said he also received a letter from the city conceding wrongdoing on its part and admitting there was no factual basis for sex-abuse claims made against him by Perez and others. The city, represented by lawyer Pat McMahon, has never before admitted the 1994-95 investigations were wrongly handled by authorities. McMahon said this morning he wasn't at liberty to comment on reasons for the apparent settlement. Asked to provide a copy of the letter, McMahon refused. He then said he could not comment on the matter at this time and then added, "I'm not even confirming there is a letter." Glassen was never arrested in connection with sex crimes, although one of Perez' foster daughters accused him of engaging in sex orgies involving as many as 20 adults and numerous children. Glassen has repeatedly denied the allegations. When he learned of the accusation in March 1995, Glassen has said he became afraid and moved his family to British Columbia. The out of court settlement was reached following 11 hours of mediation last Thursday in Spokane, Glassen said. Glassen said he has a copy of the letter but said he couldn't release it because the city had specifically said it was to be used only for employment and immigration purposes. Glassen's attorney, Steve Lacy, is out of town and couldn't be reached for comment. City Administrator Gary Tomsic didn't return a phone message. "We waited five long years for this," Glassen said this morning from his home. "It was a joy to call my wife and family and friends and tell them the city had to concede they had wronged me and that there was no truth to the awful allegations Perez had stigmatized me with." Glassen said the letter is important because he needs it to clear his name with Canadian authorities and others. "We made that (letter) a precondition for this (settlement)," he said. "In my mind, the damage goes on, the stigma stays with you, once those kind of allegations are made. I want to feel free to come to Washington state any time I want to." Glassen would be the third plaintiff to settle out of court this year in litigation arising from the way authorities handled the controversial cases. Former foster parent Bob Devereaux agreed to drop his lawsuit against the city in exchange for $290,000. William Davis, a former Sunday School bus driver, settled with four agencies, including the city and state, for $149,500. In those settlements, the government agencies admitted no wrongdoing. Glassen sued the city, Perez, police officer Terry Pippin and the state Department of Social and Health Services. He claimed he was falsely arrested and imprisoned and that Perez and Pippin helped get him fired from his state job. He alleged Perez also drummed up false allegations. He contended the state wrongfully terminated him. Perez has repeatedly denied he did anything improper. The portion of his lawsuit against the state is scheduled to go to trial Oct. 13 in Chelan County Superior Court. In his original claim filed in 1995, Glassen sought damages of $750,000. Glassen's public involvement in the sex-abuse investigations began in August 1994 when he was arrested by then-Wenatchee Police Sgt. Doug Tangen on suspicion of tampering with a witness. Police claimed Glassen had improperly contacted and talked to a 15-year-old girl who had accused foster parent Bob Devereaux of sex abuse. The charges against Devereaux were later dropped. Glassen, then a state caseworker monitoring longterm foster care cases, has said he was informing the girl, who suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome and had an IQ in the mid-80s, what foster home she would be placed in. In the middle of the discussion, Glassen said she told him that Perez had pressured her into accusing Devereaux, a claim Perez has denied. Glassen said he reported the girl's comments to authorities. A day later, he was arrested for witness tampering. The felony charge was reduced to a misdemeanor and then dismissed in February 1995. He was fired in March 1995, after being on administrative leave for seven months. State officials maintained Glassen was let go because he defied orders and obstructed a police investigation into Perez' cases. They later claimed Glassen had failed to report suspected child abuse. Glassen denied the allegations. In a police report written by Perez prior to Glassen's dismissal, Glassen was accused of withholding information. Perez indicated the information could have helped him break up an alleged sex ring two months before he cracked the case. The existence of sex rings operating in Wenatchee has since been discounted by officials, courts and the media.