Defender’s sexual comments cause concern

Kim Smith

Thursday, May 23, 2002 | 11:14 a.m.

Recent comments made by a Clark County deputy public defender are raising the eyebrows of prosecutors and victims' advocates.

Deputy Public Defender Steve Immerman was recently appointed to head up the public defender's new sexual assault unit. As such, he recently took on the cases of Steven Newberg, who is charged with several rapes, and Tanya Hadden, a California teacher accused of bringing her 15-year-old student and alleged lover to Las Vegas.

Hadden entered a not guilty plea Wednesday on multiple sex-related charges and is scheduled to be tried July 22.

In an article that appeared in the May 11 Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif., Immerman is quoted as saying the 15-year-old in the Hadden case was "ready, willing and able."

"Bully for the kid for putting a notch in his belt by learning the language of love from an older woman," he was quoted as saying.

A month earlier Immerman suggested the bail for Newberg be reduced, saying the sounds made by a 14-year-old alleged rape victim on a videotape were "moans of pleasure."

Immerman said his comments in the newspaper were taken out of context and he did not mean to imply sex between teachers and students is appropriate.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Doug Herndon, who is in charge of the District Attorney's Special Victims Unit, said he nevertheless found Immerman's comment about the Hadden case "inappropriate."

"I would say that comment shows a misunderstanding of adult-child sexual relationships and in particular the special relationship between a student and a teacher," Herndon said. "Society very strongly frowns on a teacher abusing a relationship with a student by engaging in a sexual relationship with them because of the position of authority they have in their life."

Herndon said he hopes that as members of the new unit attend more seminars and training sessions, they will "get a better understanding of the dynamics of child sexual abuse" and the long-term effects of such crimes.

Vicki Graff, executive director of Family and Child Treatment center, was astonished at Immerman's comments.

"That kind of reaction is what we've been battling against for so incredibly long," Graff said. "If Mr. Immerman's 15-year-old daughter were introduced to sexual relations by a 32-year-old teacher I don't think he would think that was so fun, and I doubt he would find it a notch in her belt."

A 15-year-old boy is not emotionally equipped to handle such a relationship, Graff said.

Terri Miller, a Pahrump mother of four who lobbied in 1998 for the state law that makes it illegal for teachers to have sex with students, was also upset by Immerman's comments.

Miller, who is also national president of the nonprofit advocacy group Stop Educator Sexual Abuse, Misconduct and Exploitation, said most child sexual abuse victims experience a plethora of problems brought on by the betrayal of trust and abuse of power.

"We'll probably see him struggle with relationships and, if the humiliation gets too severe, we may see him abuse drugs and alcohol," Miller said. "Chances are, he's not going to be bragging about this."

Graff said the comment stemming from the Newberg case was also inappropriate.

"People do a lot to defend their clients, but he stepped way over the boundary," Graff said. "To say that a rape victim was moaning in pleasure takes us decades back."

Immerman said the comment in the Press-Enterprise was part of a larger discussion about the charges being pressed by the Clark County District Attorney's Office.

The defense attorney said prosecutors pressed more serious charges against Hadden than needed, and they should be focusing their attention on more heinous cases. Hadden is facing multiple counts, including first-degree kidnapping, which carries a life sentence.

Immerman pointed out the boy came to Las Vegas willingly.

"They charged 17 felony counts on this case and that's ridiculous," Immerman said. "They do that, because it ties our hands and we're forced to deal in a lot of cases."

The deputy public defender said it's clear that sex between a student and teacher is inappropriate.

"I think the relationship, if it happened, is inappropriate, and I think that if an abuse of trust took place, that was inappropriate too," Immerman said. "But, in the grand scheme of things, it would be different if we were talking about a 5- or 6-year-old victim."

Despite the outcry, Immerman has continued to make what some are calling inappropriate comments on the Hadden case.

In Saturday's Press-Enterprise, Immerman is quoted as saying, "Some folks say I don't appreciate the psychological trauma to a 15-year-old boy. Well, he got to have a lot of fun; psychological trauma my ass. This teacher lost her job. He gets to go pop a beer and say 'I banged a teacher.' "

Immerman's boss, Clark County Public Defender Marcus Cooper, said Monday he supports him.

"What Steve is attempting to convey is his dismay and frustration with the way this case is progressing," Cooper said. "He could've expressed it in a more artful fashion, but I agree with him. This case is grossly overcharged."

While Hadden is "languishing" in jail facing a potential life sentence, her alleged victim is reportedly getting "high-fives" from his peers, Cooper said. Cooper also said he is not surprised child victim advocates or prosecutors are upset with the "moans of pleasure" comment.

But it is a defense attorney's job to question the veracity of alleged sexual assault victims, Cooper said.

In order for someone to be convicted of sexual assault of a minor, prosecutors must prove that the victim did not or could not understand the nature of the acts, Cooper said.

"We can hardly argue that a 3- or 4-year-old understands a particular course of conduct, but it's not altogether impossible that a 14-, 15-, 16-year-old can appreciate that kind of conduct, and that is one of the elements of the crime charged," Cooper said.

Immerman is an excellent trial attorney with "tremendous skills," and that is why he was chosen to head up the new unit, Cooper said.

"I'm not at all displeased in my selection," Cooper said. "In fact, I wish I had more Steve Immermans in my office."6"If Mr. Immerman's 15-year-old daughter were introduced to sexual relations by a 32-year-old teacher I don't think he would think that was so fun, and I doubt he would find it a notch in her belt."