Complex case - Original prosecutor happy Withers trial ended with guilty plea

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Byline: C.G. Wallace
Published: 09/11/96

The first prosecutor in the LaVar Withers case, who declined to file charges against the Rexburg doctor, hopes Monday's conviction will bring closure for everyone involved.
When Jefferson County deputy prosecutor Steve Clark was hired as special prosecutor in the case against Withers, it was a child sex abuse case with one victim.
After a year of investigating, he dropped the case.
So when the Rexburg doctor finally was taken to court and entered a plea of guilty to a battery charge in exchange for dropping the 16 felony counts of child sexual abuse Monday, it was special prosecutor Dan Hawkley, not Clark, leading the case against the well-known physician.
Clark has kept up with the story through news reports and updates from Hawkley.
When Clark's investigation began, it looked to him like the only complication was that the suspect was a doctor. But Clark had handled such cases before and wasn't concerned.
So he didn't expect anything unusual when he took over the case from the Madison County prosecutor, who reported a conflict of interest.
Clark had no idea that more than 100 women had yet to come forward with stories that Withers had fondled them.
It was like Russian nesting dolls. Open one up and there's another one," Clark said on the growing list of allegations.
In terms of time, it had turned into a murder case. In terms of victims, it was looking like a landmark case.
This was turning into a McMartin preschool-type thing," Clark said.
If there was a single galvanizing point in getting victims to come forward, it was a May 1, 1995, Post Register article on the doctor's retirement, Clark said.
The flattering story described the 4,000 babies Withers had delivered in his 32-year career and quoted him saying, I've had a great life, had a lot of fun, and met a lot of nice people. I have no regrets, wouldn't change a thing."
Up until that article, Clark had no idea that the man he was investigating for sexual abuse of a child was so popular, he said.
Here was a guy who was being held up as a saint," Clark said.
The complaints began pouring in and the case began to take too much of his time. Clark called the Idaho attorney general's office for backup in mid-June 1995.
The attorney general's office launched its own investigation, interviewing witnesses from a list of names provided by the Rape Response Center in Idaho Falls.
Meanwhile, Withers surrendered his medical license, effective July 31, 1995, after a months-long investigation by the Idaho Board of Medicine into allegations of the doctor's sexual misconduct.
Despite that, the attorney general's office concluded the state could not prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and reported their finding to Clark during a phone conversation.
Clark took the weekend and mulled what he had been told by the attorney general's office. It took him about 48 hours to decide to go along with the attorney general's opinion and not file charges against Withers. He told a group of victims about his decision in late November 1995.
The decision I made not to prosecute had to be one of the toughest decisions I've made in my life," Clark said. He had been in charge of the case for more than a year.
On May 2, 1996, Clark passed the case to special prosecutor Dan Hawkley, who listed on his resume experience in convicting child molesters.
You always second-guess yourself," Clark said of his reaction to the twists and turns of the case. I had to toss my ego aside and let someone else take a look at the case. ... I wish I could be sure of everything."
Hawkley's successful completion of the case is a relief, Clark said. He said he's glad the case is over and that Withers has been brought to justice.
At the attorney general's office, the people who recommended not to charge the doctor offered their support and congratulations to special prosecutor Hawkley, said deputy attorney general William von Tagen.
When the AG's office investigated the case, they were not given all of the victims' names, and many of the victims they did interview told of abuse that happened too long ago to be prosecuted because of the statute of limitations, von Tagen said.
Basically what it all boiled down to was a couple of misdemeanor cases," von Tagen said. And these cases were not deemed viable.
After its dealings with the case, the attorney general's office sponsored legislation changing the statute of limitations concerning doctor/patient abuse cases.
If that would've been in place when Withers' victims came forward, there would have been enough evidence to prosecute, von Tagen said.
That may be the strongest legacy of the Withers case," von Tagen said.
Both von Tagen and Clark agree that Hawkley's new evidence made the difference.
He uncovered evidence we didn't have, so it's not really comparing apples and apples," Clark said of the case he had against Withers and the case that Hawkley pursued against the former doctor.
I think that what's been accomplished benefited everyone," Clark. He said he hopes the sentence will send a message to the community.
It may take a long time, but the system does work," concluded Clark.