Sex assault suspect freed on bail

Carri Geer
477 words
11 March 1994
The Las Vegas Review-Journal
LVGS
5b
English
(Copyright 1994)
A former Salvation Army worker was released on bail Thursday, a day after a 14-year-old girl testified about
sexual acts she claims he forced her to commit with him.

Dennis Eugene Thorn, 22, posted the $10,000 bail after his attorney persuaded Justice of the Peace James
Bixler to reduce it from $136,000.

"The witness does not come across, in my opinion, as someone who is going to be impressive to a jury," Bixler
said before lowering Thorn's bail Wednesday.

The girl is one of four adolescents who have accused Thorn of molesting them between December 1992 and last
summer. She testified during the first day of a preliminary hearing, which is scheduled to continue Tuesday
afternoon.

Thorn, a former van driver and volunteer leader for the charity's youth programs, faces 19 charges of sexual
assault and lewdness.

Police said some of the incidents occurred at the Salvation Army's church building at 2900 Palomino Lane.

Charity officials fired Thorn in July after learning about the allegations, and police arrested the defendant after a
six-month investigation.

The 14-year-old witness began giggling as she entered Bixler's courtroom Wednesday and smiled broadly when
she identified Thorn as the man who molested her.

Under questioning by Deputy District Attorney Frank Coumou, the girl explained that feelings of nervousness
made her laugh.

The girl said Thorn fondled her every time he had the opportunity and hit her when she resisted. She also
described a June 9 incident in which the two had sex in a bedroom at the home of youth director Jason Smith.

Smith, dressed in his Salvation Army uniform, hugged Thorn's mother after Wednesday's hearing. The witness
said she complained to Smith about Thorn's activities, but he told her to keep quiet.

The girl said she and friends kept a diary with details of Thorn's advances but destroyed the pages in July to
avoid getting in trouble.

When Coumou asked the witness why she allowed Thorn to fondle her and have sex with her, she replied,
"because he's abusive. I didn't want more bruises."

On cross-examination, defense attorney Steve Wolfson asked the girl why she stayed in the van with Thorn
during one incident in which he tried to force her to fondle his genitals.

"That is a retarded question," she said.

Wolfson asked for the bail reduction after the girl finished her testimony. The attorney told Bixler his client has
family support and proved during a six-month investigation that he is not a flight risk.

"From what I gather, most of these acts are consensual anyway," he said.

Coumou objected, telling the judge that Thorn robbed the victims of their youth, but Bixler told the prosecutor to
save his argument for a jury.
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