Lawyer: Detective Too Burned Out to Probe Child Abuse Cases

Article from USNews.com.

OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) — A former Oregon detective has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for failing to investigate reports of child abuse, behavior his lawyer said was caused by burnout.

Ex-Clackamas County sheriff’s Detective Jeffrey Allen Green, 59, pleaded guilty on Thursday, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Green was accused of not investigating more than 50 cases during his six years as a detective. Green’s lawyer, William Bruce Shepley, told the judge his client wasn’t doing his job because he “suffered from a terrible case of burnout.”

Green was assigned to an array of crimes in Wilsonville, including rape, child sexual assault and theft.

In some cases, Green didn’t track down and identify suspects, submit DNA evidence from a rape kit to the state crime lab for analysis or make contact with victims or their families, prosecutors said.

Green didn’t make any statements before the judge in the courthouse. He declined to comment after the hearing.

Deputy District Attorney Bryan Brock, one of the prosecutors against Green, told the judge that he had worked with Green on several cases and the District Attorney’s Office worked with him on a regular basis. Green was a “very experienced” detective and his mishandling of dozens of cases wasn’t due to a lack of intellect, Brock said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Chris Owen said his office didn’t perceive any potential conflicts of interest with handling Green’s case. “I do know Detective Green, and I certainly know him to be a capable detective when he chose to be so,” Brock said.

A judge abided by the terms of a plea deal and sentenced Green to one year of probation, $1,100 in fines and fees and an order to relinquish his police certification so he can never work as an officer again.

Green will not serve time in jail.

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